Spied! BMW's Fifth Generation 5-series

[Billy77]

URL - http://www.motioncars.com/autobuzz/article...w_5-series.html

 

Spied! BMW's Fifth Generation 5-series

By Ulysses Ang

 

After boasting about the advantages of a normally aspirated, high-revving engine, BMW seems to be giving into what its competitors have been doing: relying on forced air.

 

The fifth-generation 5-series is expected to make a debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March with a 380 bhp twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-6.

 

Other engines that will complete the 5-series' line-up include a new 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4.

 

Of course, the usual normally aspirated inline-6s in 2.2-liter, 2.5-liter and 3.0-liter displacements will still be made available. A few months into sales, the 7-series' 3.6-liter and 4.5-liter V8s will be made available.

 

Underneath, the 5-series will use a lightweight hybrid construction found in the Z8 and the Rolls-Royce Phantom. The new suspension system will use an aluminum spaceframe with extensive use of aluminum bits to keep the weight below the 2002 model.

 

The new 5-series is not expected to carry the entire safety and comfort features of the current 7-series, however, it is rumored to carry a steering system that corrects for high-speed cross winds and heavy braking; an automatic damping suspension system; dynamic stability controls and a less complex iDrive system.

 

From these photos, the new BMW 5-series looks like a shrunken 7-series. Though the looks maybe questionable, the performance certainly isn't with new turbocharged engines available for the first time.

Edited March 6, 2003 by Billy77

[Saaber]

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