When some manufacturers think that building one million cars is an achievement in itself – well, in some cases, it is – they should nonetheless try to take a page out of BMW’s remarkable output.
The German automaker’s 5-Series line, which began production back in 1972, has produced well over 5 million units. To be exact, this particular 525 xDrive Touring became car no. 5,555,555, which, if you’re keeping count, is a mind-boggling number.
The historic car will not be for sale but will instead be donated to the Bavarian Forest Naitonal Park, the oldest park reserve in all of Germany since it was opened in 1970 - two years before the 5-Series went into production.
To prepare car no. 5,555,555 for its new enclave, BMW outfitted with its xDrive all-wheel technology with a power output of a little under 200 hp and an average fuel consumption of 6.9 liters per 100 km.
We know that success is relative, especially when it comes to an industry as big as the auto biz. Nevertheless, you don’t come across a lot of manufacturers that can claim that they’ve built over 5 million cars from the same line. Props to BMW for achieving a great milestone!
BMW USA announced prices for the 550i GT - the only 5-Series Gran Tursimo version the US market will get. Sales will begin in spring of 2010 at a price of $64,725, including an $825 destination fee.
The 550i GT is powered by a 4.4L V8 engine that delivers a total of 400-hp and a peak torque of 450 lb-ft. The engine is mated to a new 8-speed automatic transmission and sprints the car from 0 to 60 mph in just 5.4 seconds, while top speed is 150 mph when equipped with the Sport Package (priced at $4,200).
The next generation BMW 5 Series won’t be revealed until November 23 but that hasn’t stopped a lot of us from speculating as to what the new car would look like.
Thanks to a recent spy video - and minimal camouflaging by BMW – that was taken of the 5 Series taking in a few test laps, we finally have an idea, small as it may be, of what the new 5 Series would look like. As an added bonus, we also get to see all three variants of the 5 Series in the video: the M5, the F10 sedan, and the F11 Touring.
While the video does shed some light on what to expect from the new 5 Series, BMW has nonetheless kept pretty much everything under wraps for its November 23 launch.
For a lot of us that have been waiting anxiously for that day to come, this video is about as close as we can get to seeing the next-gen 5 Series before then. You know what they say, beggars can’t be choosers.
After months of speculations, BMW officially announced today that the 2011 5-Series sedan will make its world debut on November 23rd. The future sedan will feature a "sporting and elegant design", inspired by both the 7-Series limousine and the sports activity vehicle 5-Series GT.
The next BMW 5-Series should be based on three elements: larger, lower and lighter. The car is expected to share a chassis with the 7-Series, but it will weight less because the engine lineup is expected to use smaller engines with turbochargers.
Hartge has revealed a new customization program for the new BMW 5-Series GT. They mode a few modifications to the suspensions, body, interior and wheels, leaving the engine unchanged.
The Hartge 5-Series GT get a new sport spring set that lowers the ride by 30 mm, Hartge set of emblems for bonnet and boot lid, aluminum pedals and foot rest and also an aluminum emblem for the center of the steering wheel.
The tuner is also offering a set of 22" wheels, in four different designs and finishes.
A new set of wheels can go a long way towards improving the appearance of an automobile. Not only do they change the car’s stance, but when done correctly, they can completely transform the vehicle’s character. The German tuner AC Schnitzer has come up with a few new offerings tailored to fit the BMW 5-Series GT alter the more spacious luxury sedan’s appearance according to the owner’s preference. For the first time AC Schnitzer is offering their new ten spoke Type VIII Racing Forged Wheel as well as their classic Type V Lightweight Forged Wheel and the two tone Type IV BiColor rim sized anywhere from 19 to 22 inches in diameter.
To go along with the new shoes, AC Schnitzer also has a few performance upgrades like a set of sport tuned rear silencers and polished tailpipes a reworked suspension for improved handling and better road feel. There are also a few aerodynamic components in the works from AC Schnitzer that will emphasize the bold character of their rim selection.
When BMW decided that the next-generation M5 would cease the use of that unmistakable V10 engine and instead drop it to a twin-turbo V8, the public outcry could be heard miles and miles away.
After all, the V10 engine and the M5 have become synonymous with each other, and not being able to hear the same power come out of the M5 will definitely take some getting used to.
Recently – and amid the camouflage it came with – BMW took the new 5-Series out to the Nurburgring for some laps of testing. It’s hard to make out what the car looks like but for those who are worried that the new 5-Series would lack the bite of its V10 predecessors, we invite you to watch the video of the camouflaged 5-Series and listen to that unbridled roar from the engine. You can’t tell much of a difference, can you?
There is a reason why V.I.P. cars come from Japan, which is the only explanation for this midsize German luxury sedan’s bold appearance. The Japanese tuning house Wald Intenational has just finished working on this M5 look sports line body kit that has the ability to make an ordinary E60 5 Series look like the fire breathing V10 powered super sedan that almost all BMW owners dream of driving, and now thanks to Wald International, those dreams can come true for a lot less mullah.
The most striking part of the Wald Internation sports line body kit is the redesigned front bumper that looks like it could have been lifted directly from an M5, except that the Japanese unit comes complete with a pair of trick fog light housings that go a long way towards upgrading the appearance of the 5 Series sedan. The rest of the Wald sports line kit is made up of a pair of sleeker sports mirrors and a subtle trunk mounted rear spoiler to finish off the high performance theme.
Out back the 5 Series sounds a bit more like the more powerful M5 thanks to a D.T.M. sports muffler complete with a quartett of tips that let the V.I.P. 5 Series be heard from miles away. The tuners at Wald have even set aside some of their Mahora style wheels sized either 19 or 20 inches to go along perfectly with the E60 sports line package. If the complete kit is still out of your reach, the Japanese design house also offers a more affordable set of lower bumper attachments that prvides owners with the same look at a lower price.
Even if it was just unveiled, the new BMW 5-Series GT has undergone its initial round of customization from the German tuner Hamann. Even if there are no official details about the modified GT, it is apparent that the kit will start by transforming the sporty 5-Series’ front end with a modified front bumper as well as a new rear unit, some new exhaust tips a different set of tailpipes, a set of Hamann’s signature wheels painted black as well as a host of unique interior accessories.
The BMW 5-Series GT is currently being offered with three different engines. The first is the new 3.0 Liter turbocharged straight six that makes 306 HP and 295 lb-ft of torque, a 4.4 Liter twin turbo V8 producing 408 HP and a 3.0 Liter turbo diesel mill that makes 245 HP, but we are expecting to see an improvement of at least 30 HP or more from the aftermarket manufacturer.
Airports are hardly the place you’d find a car being on display but that’s exactly the case at the Munich Airport where the new BMW 5 Series GT is proudly displayed for those taking flights at the German airport.
The method behind BMW’s madness comes on the heels of its new campaign of promoting its vehicles in a number of seemingly oddball locations with the intention of piquing the interest and curiosity of those present in the location.
Talking about terms, there aren’t that many places in the world that generates as much people traffic as one of the largest and busiest airports in Europe: the Munich Airport. The number of passengers – and that’s not even counting the employees and family members that drop off and/or pick up their kins – that walked through the airport in 2008 was a staggering 34.73 million, so you know that this airport is no slouch when it comes to human traffic.
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