BMW 5-Series GT Production Pics

Hello, next-generation 5-series! As I expected, the BMW 5-Series GT Progressive Activity Vehicle concept was an extremely close production preview of the actual vehicle, and of the look for the whole new 5-Series lineup.

I'm seeing this as a huge improvement over the current car's design. It all works together very well and it tones things down in the weirdness department. Much more traditional BMW. There's nothing wrong with that either.

I'm glad to see 7-series influence like I had hoped. I also see a bit of CS Concept in there, and it makes for a really nice mix. These renderings are screen captures via BMWBlog, who has a lot of good information surrounding this new model.

The exterior is designed by BMW designer Christopher Weil, and as you can see there are very few changes from the concept. By the way, what is it with BMW designers named Chris?

Unfortunately, that doesn't prove to be the case in the interior. At least not for this picture and model, anyway. I doubt there will be anything comparable to the concept interior though. I really liked the use of color and found it to be a nice break from the cold Germanic austerity.

Oh well, what do you expect; it's still BMW after all. While a design I like very much, it's hard to see the car's purpose. Where does it fit in the lineup? Or perhaps a better question; what purpose does it serve that can't be filled by another BMW model?

BMW 's Chris Bangle said about the car, before he left, “This is the most customer-centered car we’ve ever done. We discovered a group of BMW buyers we were failing to reach out to at a sales level. We wanted to build a car to suit their everyday needs. There were no preconceived ideas. Everything you see is customer driven.”

Hmm, so this is a BMW built from a focus-group. The study pointed to an aging customer demographic who 1. Think the 5-Series sedan's seating is too sporty, 2. That of an X5 or X6's too high and 3. Aren't willing to spend the money for a top-end vehicle like the 7-series.

Seems like an incredibly small target, but who's to argue with the customer, right? Guess we'll find out how it fares soon enough. Expect to see the 5-Series GT sometime this year, auto show unknown at this point.