2011 BMW 5 Series Touring Spied Testing Alongside Sedan

EARLIER THIS WEEK, BMW confirmed it will unveil the 2011 BMW 5 Series Touring at the Leipzig Auto Mobil International motor show in April.

New spy photos this week reveal the new 5 Series wagon undergoing final cold-weather testing alongside the new 5 Series Sedan, unveiled in November.

Our new renderings (below) offer a glimpse of the expected styling direction of the new wagon, due to go on sale locally as a 2011 model later this year.

While BMW has remained tight-lipped it has been possible to pull together some of the expected lines of the new wagon. With the recently revealed 5 Series GT taking on the sportier end of the 5 Series variants, the Touring is likely to bear subtler styling.

As with the F10 5 Series sedan, the Touring will share its platform with the new 7 Series, possibly maintaining the platform's original length, 100mm longer than the sedan.

Power is likely to come from either the 225kW turbocharged inline-six destined for the new 535i, or the naturally-aspirated 180kW inline-six of the 528i.

With the growing acceptance of diesel engines with Australian buyers, the 520d's four-cylinder turbodiesel or the 530d's  inline-six turbodiesel engine may make an appearance in the wagon.

The 5 Series Touring will join the 2010 BMW 5 Series GT, launched in Australia last week.