Frankfurt Motor Show 2009: 2010 BMW 5 Series GT is almost schön in person
The BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo took a whirl on the plinth and we have to admit it doesn’t look the least bit absurd standing in person. We completely forgot to be offended at the fact we’re being handed this instead of the perfectly fantastic 5 Series Sport Wagon. At least, until we played around with the dual-action lift gate — then the word “gimmick” did flit through our cranial region for a moment.
Still, it’s not bad, and on the road it looks like it has the potential to get a whole lot better. As the Hesse-novel-length press release after the jump explains, the car will combine the legroom of the 7 Series, head room of the BMW X5, 59.5 cubic feet of storage space, and a base diesel with 245 hp and 43 mpg. Go for gold, and there’s a V8 twin turbo with 407 hp and a 5.5-second run to 60.
BMW continues to carve out new niches for its cars with the new 5-Series Gran Turismo, a vehicle that attempts to combine a luxury car, sports sedan and sport utility vehicle into one. Revealed here is the production model, coming about six months after the concept made its debut earlier this year at the Geneva Motor Show.
The Gran Turismo will slot in next to BMW’s equally unique X6 “sport activity coupe” and serve as the more practical of the two thanks to its larger cargo area. Power will come from the same twin-turbocharged 400-hp, 450-lb ft 4.4L V-8 that’s found in the X6 xDrive 50i but in the Gran Turismo, it will be mated to an all-new eight-speed automatic transmission. A regenerative braking system in addition to the new transmission will help the Gran Turismo keep its fuel economy numbers up even with the powerful V-8 engine under the hood.
In addition to extra cargo space, the Gran Turismo also offers more passenger space than the X6. While it is offered with four bucket seats like the X6, it can also be ordered with a middle seat in the rear. A bulge in the roofline between the rear doors gives rear seat passengers some much needed head room without turning the Gran Turismo into a full-blown hatchback or SUV. A higher seating position than other BMWs makes for better visibility for all passengers.
While the interior has been toned down from the concept vehicle and better resembles most other BMWs, the exterior remains mostly unchanged. The Hofmeister Kink is still present on the rear side windows and the massive sunroof remains, as does the two-piece rear hatch. The rear cargo area can be accessed by opening either the entire lift gate or by simply opening the bottom portion below the glass, much like a regular trunk lid on a sedan.
BMW hasn’t finalized pricing yet, but the 5-Series Gran Turismo is expected to start in the $65,000 to $70,000 range. The first copies of the 2010 model are expected to arrive in U.S. showrooms by the end of the year.
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