SPIED: BMW's Next-Gen 5-Series Makes Its FIRST Appearance

The BMW 5-Series is one of those executive sedans that has become the "go to" choice for those who have "made it." Over time we've seen it grow up and become the monumental product it is today.

And though we just saw it get a refresh for the 2014 model year, it appears that the Bavarians are starting fresh right now with the seventh-generation product starting development. Though there isn't much to see from the spy shots — the mule is wearing the current 5'ers skin — there is much to talk about what BMW's plans are for the next-gen auto.

Of course at the top of the list is weight saving materials. According to Autocar, BMW is aiming to shed approximately 220 pounds in an effort to increase fuel efficiency and performance. In addition, word on the street suggests that BMW will not be equipping the 5-Series with a V8 powerplant. Instead it will stick to four-cylinders and six-cylinder motors.

...Clothed in the same body as today’s model, the new 5-series prototype caught here doesn’t provide many clues to the appearance of the new model, which has been styled under the guise of BMW design boss Karim Habib.

However, an evolutionary approach looks set to keep it close to its predecessor in size. The new 5-series will be about 4910mm long, 1875mm wide and 1470mm tall. As with today’s 5-series, the new model will be sold in three body styles: saloon, Touring and Gran Turismo liftback...

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Satriani1 - 8/14/2013 2:04:15 AM

-4 Boost

BMW's next generation 5 Series must be a much lighter and better car than this generation.

Since it's launch, this current gen 5 Series has lost most comparison tests to the class-leading Audi A6. To add insult to injury, even the previous generation A6 (old 2010 model) was good enough to beat this generation's 5 Series (new 2011 model). This gen's BMW 5 Series is certainly not a monumental car. "Those who have made it" should be thinking twice about making this current gen 5 Series their "go to" executive sedan if they are smart enough to have done their homework.

2010 Car and Driver mag comparison:
In this July 2010 test, this third-gen Audi was in the final months of its life and yet still won the comparo against the new BMW 535i (current generation). The BMW was last in the comparo! The current fourth generation Audi A6 was launched in early 2011 for the European market and in other markets soon after.
First place: 2010 Audi A6 3.0T Quattro
Second place: 2011 Infiniti M37
Third place: 2011 BMW 535i,
http://tinyurl.com/74rlfdj

2013 German car mag comparison: mid-size luxury executive sedan (gasoline)
First Place: Audi A6 3.0 TFSI Quattro
Second Place: Mercedes E 400 (facelifted)
Third Place: BMW 535i (facelifted)
Fourth Place: Cadillac CTS 3.6 AWD
http://tinyurl.com/mrckyac

2013 German car mag comparison: mid-size luxury executive sedan (diesel)
First Place: Audi A6 2.0 TDI
Second Place: BMW 520d (facelifted)
Third Place: Mercedes E 220 CDI Blue Efficency (facelifted)
Fourth Place: Skoda Superb 2.0 TDI
Fifth Place: Jaguar XF 2.2D
http://tinyurl.com/mby8bmt

2012 Car and Driver mag comparison
First Place: Audi S6
Second Place: Mercedes E 63 AMG
Third Place: BMW M5
http://tinyurl.com/cqntdwx
http://tinyurl.com/6olv8mu

2012 German car mag comparison:
Audi S6 sedan
BMW 550i
Dodge Charger SRT8
http://tinyurl.com/9oe3o74

These American and German analyses of what's wrong with the BMW M5 expose the inherent flaws of this generation 5 series.

- Video clip: Motor Trend 2012 head-to-head comparo of the BMW M5 (Sakhir Orange, no less) and Porsche Panamera GTS. MT's Jonny Lieberman had to admit that the Panamera GTS was simply the better of the two cars to drive, had better steering, was more precise, and would win more stoplight-to-stop light races than the M5 (which he said was a blunt instrument). This is interesting because (a) the Panamera five-door sportback is longer and bigger than the M5 sedan and (b) the naturally-aspirated, 440 HP, 384 lb-ft torque Panamera GTS sportback was underpowered compared to the twin-turbo 552 hp, 502 lb ft torque BMW sedan. The more appropriate Porsche for the August 2012 comparo was the twin-turbo 550 hp, 590 lb ft torque Panamera Turbo S sportback or even the regular Panamera Turbo with Sport Chrono option. (This MT comparo was done one year before the Audi RS7 was released).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhykdFxSWR0

- In his August 2012 supertest of the BMW

Satriani1 - 8/14/2013 2:06:31 AM

-3 Boost

- In his August 2012 supertest of the BMW M5 (see links), supercar tester Horst von Saurma questioned the press hype of the M5 as a "high-performance sports car on the track". Von Saurma found the M5 to be too heavy, aerodynamically worse, etc compared to the previous generation M5. M GmbH could only work with the base car sent to them by BMW -- but this weight problem and other flaws forced M GmbH to make compromises that von Saurma did not like. No doubt von Saurma (on behalf of M GmbH) was sending a message to BMW management to eliminate these flaws in the next generation of 5 Series. Von Saurma achieved his 8:05 min laptime with the M5 on the Nurburgring on his first run but was unable to reproduce or improve the laptime in subsequent attempts because of the M5's brake fade and overheated tires (despite having excellent Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires). Even on the much smaller track at Hockenheim, subsequent laps were a problem. The first two links (especially the second link) provides von Saurma's assessment of the M5.
http://tinyurl.com/l79a3bb
http://tinyurl.com/btnczwz
http://tinyurl.com/lztemu2

nguyenvuminh - 8/14/2013 9:44:46 AM

+1 Boost

Historically, BMW tend to not make drastic changes to their cars, exterior design wise. It is certainly "evolutionary" in nature.
This shouldn't be any different from prior years. Kind of surprising isn't it? For a company that caters to buyers that are younger than MB, their cars don't experiment much. Contrast that to MB (E-class from the 80s are very different from E-class in the 90s, in the 2000s, to 2010s, and C class and S class as well). Of course, maybe BMW sees their respective 3, 5 and 7 as being spot on right from the get go so why change? To me at least, kind of interesting how there's a divergence between their car's characteristic and their corporate design philosophy. Sorry about the 5 minute ramble.