BMW Reveals Chinese Long-Wheelbase 5 Series

If you want to see that the Chinese market for cars is going to be a big player in years to come, look no further than this upcoming offering from BMW. In this instance, BMW is making a version of their bread and butter 5 Series sedan that has been stretched to better meet the needs of the Far East market.

It seems that being chauffeured around is something that the Chinese are quite fond of. No, as a gearhead, I don't get the appeal either, but so be it. It's their market, if they want to have cars on offer that are chauffeur oriented, then who am I to disagree?

BMW has created this long-wheelbase version of their 5 Series exclusively for that market. Just how exclusive? The stretched 5 Series will only be produced in BMW's Shenyang plant, that's how exclusive. But that also tells you something about just how big this market must be. Not only does Beemer give them a Chinese market only car, but also they go to the hassle of build a special line for it in-country. Must be some Euros to be made, or they wouldn't have done it.

The Chinese stretcher gets an extra 5.5 inches added to the rear passenger compartment area of the car. BMW says that those people in the back will travel in "luxurious grand touring comfort". Not only that, but the Chinese stretched 5 Series gets a rear axle tailored for the model, and they even get a bespoke rear seat.

If you are in China and want this car, you'll get a choice of three engines to choose from. The bottom of the engine range starts with a 204 horsepower plant and goes all the way up to 306 hp engine option. What will now be interesting to see is if BMW, or others, bring out more Chinese-specific offerings.

Source: AutoBlog