The first embargo-busting pics of BMW’s new 5-Series Gran Tursimo ‘Progressive Activity Sedan’ have hit the interwebs, showing for the first time the exterior and interior of the handsome midsize sedan-slash-hatch.
The images, which appear to have been taken at some kind of press preview, give us a good look at BMW’s latest styling direction, the last to be influenced by outgoing design chief Chris Bangle. Our verdict? Well, it doesn’t look half bad, to be honest.
A bigger grille, big rims and a body that’s visually heavier than the regular 5 make the GT an altogether beefier offering, and one that should prove very popular in a prestige market where image is everything. The silhoutte is also slightly deceptive: don’t mistake this for your average four-door coupe - the GT is a bona-fide hatchback.
It’s an interesting take on a hatchback. Not only is the GT a sizable family car, but the hatch itself combines the positive virtues of both a traditional boot and a hatchback.
The whole assembly operates like a regular hatch, however the press of a button opens up the hinged lower portion while leaving the rear glass shut (below). Handy for when you just want to throw a couple of bags in the back.
The sheetmetal is also tauter and more heavily contoured than that of the cooking-model 5. The GT’s bonnet creases are more scultpural and more defined, while BMW’s characteristic character-line along the flanks of the car is more pronounced than ever.
It’s not quite as sleek as its non-SUV stablemates, but the tall stance of the GT is meant to bridge the gap between sedan and crossover wagon.
The cabin is classic BMW and aside from swathes of white leather and some organic-looking inserts on the seats, it should be familiar to anyone who’s driven a modern BMW.
The 5-Series Gran Turismo PAS is expected to debut at the Geneva Auto Show as a concept, however given the rather polished state of the preview car, we wouldn’t be at all surprised if a production version was to follow soon after. Watch this space.
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Thank god this is Bangles last effort!!
Ah, hang-on a bit….are those seatcovers???!??!!?
And whats with the colours of the interior? do people actually get asked if they think it looks alright??
Enjoy your after-auto designing Chris, you won’t be missed!!
Its still as ugly and useless as an X6
Looks like the Mitsubishi Lancer side on, which is not really a bad thing!
to all the people who judged this car in a bad way, lets see you try to design a beautifully unique bmw. i love and adore it and can’t wait till it comes out.