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2011 BMW 5-Series Sedan
The next generation BMW 5-Series luxury sedan has just made its world debut. As expected the design of the all new 5 takes cues from both the 7-Series limousine and the 5-Series GT crossover, all coming together to give the 5-Series a a much more elegant and streamlined appearance. BMW will power the new 5-Series with a V8 as well as an assortment of six cylinder engines burning both gasoline and diesel. The new car’s lineup will range from the fuel efficient BMW 520d making 184 HP, the 535i powered BMW TwinPower Turbo using High Precision Injection and VALVETRONIC variable valve timing that cranks out 306 HP as well as the top of the line 550i powered by a 407 HP eight cylinder engine; just to name a few. As part of BMW’s new car lineup, every new 5-Series models will come equipped with an eight speed automatic transmission. Aside from the the German automaker’s automatic transmission optimized for efficiency, the new 5-Series will come standard with other gas saving features like EPS Electric Power Steering that takes some stress off the drive train by reducing parasitic drag and frees up a few more horsepower at the same time. One thing that is for certain is that the new 5-Series is guaranteed to impress new car shoppers. Updated: 03/25/2010: BMW today announced US prices for the new 5-Series Sedan that will go on sale this June. Including $875 Destination & Handling, the new 535i Sedan will start at $50,475, and the V-8 powered 550i will start at $60,575. Hit the jump to get full price listings. Updated 06/21/2010: BMW today announced prices for the new 2011 535i and 550i xDrive Sedan models. The 2011 535i xDrive is priced at $52,775 and the 550i xDrive at $62,875. These prices represent a $2300 premium over their traditional rear-wheel drive counterparts. Sales will begin in October 2010. UPDATE 06/23/2010: If you planned to buy a BMW 5-Series, but haven’t had the chance to place an order yet, then we have some very bad news for you. BMW has announced that the luxury sedan has sold out in all markets, forcing customers to wait three to four months for deliveries. Press release after the jump. Full story Alpina B5 Bi-Turbo teased just ahead of Goodwood debut
 
There has been a lot of people following the rumors surrounding the Alpina B5 Bi Turbo and a lot of attempts at creating a rendering of what this highly anticipated car would end up looking like. Finally, we are able to put some of those presumptions to rest. Alpina has unveiled today the first image of the B5 Bi-Turbo that will be unveiled at the Goodwood Festival Of Speed on July 1-4, 2010. Based on the BMW 5-Series, the B5 Bi-Turbo combines luxurious performance, elegant styling, sporty handling, and exclusivity. The new BMW ALPINA B5 Bi-Turbo combines all of these elements to project a fresh and modern design much like the 2010 BMW Alpina B3 S Biturbo with more of an Alpina B7 look to it. No details are being divulged as of yet - again, we’re not surprised - but knowing these guys and their capabilities in tuning up BMWs, we figure that it’s going to have something along the lines of what they placed under the hood of their previous work-of-art, the Alpina 7-Series Bi-Turbo. That, of course, was a 4.4-liter V8 engine that produces as much as 500 horsepower and 536 lb/ft of torque. We likey a lot. And to the tuning house’s credit, they didn’t push the envelope with the B5 Bi-Turbo’s design, opting for a conservative approach that only includes new body kits on the 5-Series’ front lip spoiler and rocket panels, in addition, of course, to a new set of multispoke wheels. Stay tuned for more updates from Alpina leading up to the B5 Bi-Turbo’s debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in a month’s time. Press release after the jump. Full storyNo BMW 5-Series Touring for the U.S market
Well it seems that another great car won’t make it to our shores. Is it because we have a weird obsession with SUVs or another strange reason? Who knows, but the truth of the matter is this; no BMW 5-Series Touring for you. So, in its place, we get a completely pointless Gran Turismo. Oh joy. "The new BMW 5 Series Touring is the perfect symbiosis of driving pleasure, efficiency, versatility and sporting elegance,” BMW said about the new wagon. The BMW 5-Series Touring is offered with a choice of two straight-six petrol engines as well as a four-cylinder, and a six-cylinder diesel. The base version, BMW 523i Touring is powered by a straight-six engine developing a total of 204 bhp, while in the 535i Touring, the output is raised to 306 hp. As for the diesel versions, the 520d Touring is powered by a four-cylinder turbo diesel engine that develops 184 hp and the 530d Touring features a straight six-cylinder diesel with a 245 hp output. All engines are mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission or a six-speed manual gearbox. If you want one of these, you’re not alone. We can only hope that in the future, BMW will think about sending the 5-Series Touring to this country. A fast, great looking, and fun to drive car that can haul the whole family and even a dog. Hit the jump for the press release. Full story 2010 BMW 5-Series gets completely mangled
Hmmm...did somebody step on that 2010 BMW 5-Series? It sure looks like it, doesn’t it? The photo of this caved in Beamer was taken by an F10post forum member - MarkE90M3 - and it clearly shows a significant amount of damage on the car on both its right side and, more severely, the roof - or what’s left of it - that seems to have collapsed under some pretty heavy weight. Some folks over at the forum have speculated that the missing roof could have been sawed off in order to free what could have been trapped passengers inside. Either way, whatever caused this beautiful 2010 5-Series, which is codenamed ’F10’, to receive this much damage must have been at the wrong place at the wrong time. What a waste of a perfectly awesome car. BMW to launch 5-Series full hybrid in 2011
Does anyone remember what happens to a row of dominoes when the first one is knocked over? If you answered, they all come tumbling down along with the first one then you would be absolutely right. After all, it’s where we got the term, "domino effect" and it is a perfect illustration of the BMW world and its hybrid technology. BMW introduced the ActiveHybrid technology in their 7-series model before moving on to the 6-series. Now, they have completed the 5-series ActiveHybrid and fully intend on divulging the hybrid powertrain to the entire 5-series lineup. The full hybrid 5-Series is set to be revealed in 2011 with the hopes of moving on to the 3-series after that. It’s a world gone hybrid! "As early as next year, the new BMW 5 Series will also be available as a full hybrid. And we are anticipating the hybridisation of further models series, such as the BMW 3 Series," Norbert Reithofer said at the carmaker’s annual general meeting in Munich. The company’s main target is to achieve the new European standard emission regulations that say that new cars should have a C02 emission of no more than 95 grams. The 5-Series ActiveHybrid uses a modular mild hybrid system that combines a 40 kW electric motor with a 300HP twin-scroll turbo inline-six engine. The hybrid 5-Series can function as a full hybrid, operating in electric-only mode at city speeds. BMW confirms 5-Series Diesel for the US market
The BMW 535i and 550i haven’t even been able to grace the sales floor and already there is news on a new 5 series model itching at the chance to get on board. During a media event this week BMW confirmed that the 5-Series Diesel will also be available on the US market. More than that, Willem Rombauts said that BMW will in fact offer two diesel models on the US market. The 5-Series will definitely be one of them while the second model could be the X5 or X6. Currently BMW is only offering two diesel models on the US market: the 330d and the X5 xDrive35d, both powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder diesel that generates 265 horsepower and a sinful 425 pound-feet of torque. The engine’s possibilities for a 5-Series diesel model can only be guessed at. We could possibly see one of the straight-6s offered in Europe. Maybe the twin-turbo used in the 3 Series and X5? Maybe a slightly less muscular single-turbo 3.0-liter? Since the diesel variant has yet to receive a solid debut date, we could just be spinning our wheels while BMW works on a more powerful and fuel efficient diesel combination. It would have to beat out the 265-hp and 425 ft-lbs of torque variant it currently has running, but only time can tell what BMW may have up their sleeve. Video: BMW X5 Touring vs BMW X5M
It’s the battle of the propeller blades as two BMWs duke it out for the ever so important bragging rights. With both coming from BMW’s legendary M division, the BMW M5 Touring tries to uppend a BMW X5M. Both vehicles start off competitively, leading us to think that this race may go down to who lunges first. However, faster than we could say ’photo finish’, the BMW M5 Touring begins to stretch its legs and the 507 horsepower underneath its hood proves too much for the X5M, leaving it completely eating its dust. We don’t know how many car-lengths the X5 Touring won by, but it was big enough to assume that it was somewhere close to 30 yards.
BMW 5-Series Gran Turismo by Hamann
Hamann released today details on their tuning package for the new BMW 5-Series GT. The tuner focused on improving both the car’s aerodynamics and performance. The tuner started with a lowering kit and then proceeded to add a front spoiler, side skirts, and a rear spoiler in a subtle or striking design, as required to improve the car’s driving dynamics. Hamann didn’t stop there, however. They then added a new rear apron and four impressive stainless steel exhaust pipes that will make this vehicle purr like a kitten. Under the hood the 530d model has been tuned to deliver a total of 275 Hp and an impressive 620 Nm at 1750 RPM. This is obviously an increase from the previous 245 hp and 540 Nm of torque the BMW was working with. The boost of torque will leave the BMW 530d with a 20Nm of torque advantage over the standard BMW 535d. Not much is added to the interior. In fact, the only differences will be the pedals and footrests coming in an aluminum design and a silver HAMANN inscription added to the black foot mats. The package is finished with gigantic 22-inch tires. This package is equally as impressive as the package delivered by AC Schnitzer back in March. The only difference is that AC Schnitzer was able to push the BMW 5 Series GT a little further in the horsepower department by taking it to 286hp. The other minor differences would be purely based on personal taste. Which do you prefer? Press release after the jump. Full storyBMW 5-Series Online Configurator
The new BMW 5-Series will go on sale on the US market this June with prices starting at $50,475 for the 535i Sedan and $60,575 for the 550i sedan. Of course, before making such an important decision, consumers may want to jump on board and play around with the new online configurator for the 5-series that BMW has just unleashed. For starters, drivers can choose the exterior color of their dream vehicle before moving to the interior where they can choose between different leather and trim colors. After that, decisions get a little easier depending on how much money drivers want to spend. BMW offers a slew of packages that seem to include things that should probably come with the vehicle anyway. Their packages include: an active ventilated seat package, a dynamic handling package, a sport package, a convenience package, a premium package 2 (which is weird because we didn’t see a premium package 1), and a couple of others that we didn’t feel were important enough to mention. In addition to this long list of packages, consumers can also choose from a variety of options for performance, entertainment, conevenience, and safety. That pretty much sums up the online configurator. The BMW 550i is powered by a 4.4 liter twin-turbo V8 delivering a total of 400-hp. The engine is mated to a choice of a 6-speed manual transmission, 8-speed automatic transmission or new Sport Automatic 8-speed. The BMW 535i has a 3.0 liter, 6-cylinder engine with TwinPower Turbo technology mated to a 6-speed manual transmission. The car produces 300hp with 300lb-ft of torque. So, if you have a couple of hours to waste and are thinking of purchasing a new BMW 5-series then we suggest you take a look at the online configurator. It would be a sure way to waste time and accomplish nothing in the process. We say this not because the configurator isn’t helpful or good, but because it will probably lead to fun instead of production. Video: BMW Canada holds launch party for the 2011 5-Series in Quebec
Quebec isn’t exactly a burgeoning auto hotspot in that part of the world, but nevertheless, BMW picked it to host a launch party for the all-new 2011 BMW 5-Series. This recap video of the festivites, which was published by BMW, highlights the 5-Series’ long history in the Canadian market with BMW Laval being given the honor to personally unveil the new 5-Series. As a gathering crowd of some pretty well-dressed folks witnessed the covers being pulled, you could really tell the enthusiasm and genuinely positive response to the car, a rare occurrence these days considering the large number of vehicles that have failed to meet people’s expectations. The 2011 5-Series that will be sold in Canada will be similar to what’s going to be offered in the US with the base model being the 528i, followed by the 535i and topped off by the top-of-the-line 550i XDrive Gran Turismo. Check out the video to see highlights of the Quebec launch party of the new 2011 BMW 5-Series. | featured reviews: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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