BMW Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo

With the BMW Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo, BMW intends to explore a new segment "by incorporating dynamics, quality, and style into a new type of vehicle."

The car was unveiled on 13rd February in Munich. A replay of the Internet livecast, featuring a background presentation by Chris Bangle, is available here (runtime 35 min).

From the Official Press Release: 

Design

The Concept

This new concept addresses a demanding driver group seeking to combine style, luxury, and versatility with individual style: a a modern interpretation of the Gran Turismo segment, which combines "athletic driving qualities with a truly comfortable interior".

The BMW Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo is the production-destined rendition of the Progressive Activity Sedan (PAS) development idea.

The concept combines the looks and appearance of a sporty BMW Sedan, a modern Sports Activity Vehicle, and a classic Gran Turismo.

The overall look of the exterior clearly alludes to the extension of BMW’s model portfolio: in its exterior dimensions the BMW Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo fits between the BMW 7 Series and BMW’s various SAV models.

Its length of 196.8" is second only within the BMW model range to the 7 Series, while the car’s height of 61.2" is exceeded only by BMW’s X models. The width is 74.8” and the wheelbase is 120.9”.

The characteristic look of the BMW Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo results from the car’s proportions – the long hood, long wheelbase, and the greenhouse moved aft bear out the athletic characteristics of a BMW.

These features are combined with elements that highlight the qualities of the new concept; the large passenger cell bears testimony to the luxurious interior.

The coupe-like roofline extends into the spoiler at the rear, and represents the sporting elegance of a Gran Turismo.

The concept body is painted in Fluid Cuprite, a new color developed specifically for this model; it is reminiscent of liquid metal and models the surfaces on the body through its powerful contours.

The brake calipers and the inner surfaces on the exhaust gas tailpipes are finished in a new color called Copper.

Front view

The front view of the BMW Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo is characterized by the low-slung BMW kidney grille, the large lower air intake, and the brand’s typical dual round headlights.

The BMW kidney grille is slanted slightly forward, its upper edge marking the foremost point on the body, and is further accentuated by surrounding surfaces.

All contour lines flowing along the engine compartment out of the fenders aim at the kidney grille at the front of the car.

The air intake is lower in the middle where it extends beneath the kidney grille.

Just as the size of the BMW kidney grille demonstrates the engine’s need for cooling air, the power dome in the middle of the engine compartment lid emphasizes the sheer muscle of the engine itself.

The outer flanks of the hood facing downward form a cascade-like contour together with the widely flared wheel arches, giving the front view of the BMW Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo a wide and powerful look.

The frontal impression is further enhanced by the foglamps positioned at the outer edges of the lower air intake, while the aluminum bars separating the two outer elements on the air intake and extending beyond the foglamps further enhance the width.

Dual round headlights typical of BMW; new LED corona rings.

The dual round headlights typical of BMW come with new contour lines and a LED technology for the daytime running lights

Slanted to a distinctive angle and extending far into the fenders, the headlight units are highlighted by surrounding bars, the headlights themselves cylindrical in shape bordering at the top on a matte headlight cover.

This emphasizes the unique look of the front end, with its clear, penetrating focus.

Apart from the turn signals, the new LED corona rings for the daytime running lights generate bright, even light.

Side-view

The dominating feature from the side is the character line extending from the outer edge of the headlights and moving back at the same level as the door handles along the entire length of the car, rising up slightly in the process and continuing into the contours of the rear light clusters.

The sill-line continues into the upper edge around the air intake at the front and the contour in the rear diffuser, this interplay of the waistline and the sill-line making the car look lower and more crouched down on the ground and emphasizing the dynamic wedge of the body.

The coupe-like roofline adds character to the car’s design and is a visual expression of the features and qualities of the car.

The BMW Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo comes with frameless doors, a feature for the first time adopted on a 4-door BMW.

The door cutout bars form one unit across both entry areas and thus corresponding with the overall flair conveyed by the door panels inside the car.

Large, flared wheel arches symbolize the sporting potential of the car and are matched by 21-inch light-alloy wheels with multi-spoke design.

The short overhang keeps the fenders low and long: this effect is further intensified by the horizontal lines of the car borne out by the waistline as well as the joint and contour line on the engine compartment.

The “Hofmeister kink” re-interpreted in modern style

The design of the side windows also presents a re-interpretation of a classic BMW feature: on the BMW Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo the window surrounds are one-piece, this three-dimensional shape giving the aluminum frame a sophisticated and dynamic look around the famous “Hofmeister kink”. The exterior mirrors also represent a new design element, with the mirror base forming part of the foot of the A-pillars and thus blending harmoniously with the fender of the car.

The BMW Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo offers a new rendition of the “Hofmeister kink.” In this case the inner radius of the “kink” is particularly large, the outer radius strikingly small. This creates an exciting contrast to the roofline moving down smoothly and gently to the rear.

Rear design

The two outer roofline as well as the shoulder lines merge into the spoiler on the tailgate, giving the rear in its fastback style a surrounding line while adding a compact touch to the car.

The rear view is split by horizontal lines highlighting the width and powerful stance of the car.

The rear reaches its full width around the wheel arches, with exhaust tailpipes positioned far to the outside also directing the eyes to the wheels.

The distinctive light edge in the lower part of the bumper adds a further touch, while a diffuser finished in black marks the gap between the rear valence and the road.

Two tailgates in one

With the rear panel of the car appearing to start directly beneath the rear light clusters in order to convey a sporting impression, the low loading sill on the BMW Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo is not visible at first sight.

To stow luggage, the bi-modal trunk may be opened in traditional fashion or the entire hatch may be opened to load larger objects.

When only the lower section is opened, one loads the luggage compartment as in a sedan, benefiting in the process from the low loading sill. Using the trunk in this way keeps the interior of the vehicle from being disturbed by outside climate effects.

The L-shape of the rear light clusters is re-interpreted, with the two rows of light following a dynamic sweeping motion. The rear lights extend far into the side panel, emphasizing the full width of the BMW Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo even at night.

The rear light clusters are connected by a chrome bar continuing from the waistline at the side into the line extending into the rear lights and thus accentuating the width of the rear end.

Interior

The entryways allow ergonomically ideal access to all seats, the driver-oriented design of the cockpit suggests sporty performance while the slightly elevated seating position promotes good outward visibility.

Unique design in the rear provides a modern, generous atmosphere.

With the rear seats adjustable fore-aft by up to 4”, both legroom and the seat angle may be set to the preferences of the passengers.

Headroom is virtually the same as in the BMW X5.

With the rear seats slid aft, legroom will be roughly the same as in the BMW 7 Series and luggage capacity amounts to 15.1 cubic feet.

With the rear seats moved forward and the rear bulkhead partition opened, luggage capacity increases to almost 20 cubic feet.

After completely folding the rear seats as well as the bulkhead partition leading to the luggage compartment, large and bulky objects may be loaded into the rear. With the bulkhead partition stowed in the floor of the luggage compartment, maximum luggage capacity becomes nearly 58 cubic feet.

For convenience, the rear seats fold by pushing a button on the side panel of the luggage compartment.

In the front seats, both driver and passenger benefit from a slightly elevated seating position. This “semi-command” seating position offers an optimum outward view, much like in the BMW SAV models.

The trim bar stretching out as an arch through the entire width of the instrument panel continues into the door panels.

The interaction of ascending and descending lines throughout the interior optically connects the front and rear seats: all lines and surfaces – uninterrupted by the B-pillar – taper out behind the rear seats, thus emphasizing the length of the interior.

The feeling of spaciousness is also augmented by the center console, which extends all the way to the rear.

The colors and materials enhance the impression of personal luxury and the interplay of surfaces and lines. All surfaces are finished in natural leather, the surfaces on the seats and the door armrests form a “comfort zone” in Glacier White leather.

The bright surfaces in the comfort zone are surrounded by a dark, warm reddish brown, named Copper Brown, providing a smooth link to the exterior paintwork.

The impression of modern luxury is further enhanced through the use of authentic materials such as polished billet metal, ceramic elements and solid wood trim with metal inlays in the instrument panel.

The instrument cluster uses a high-resolution color display in black panel technology presenting the four round instruments in traditional sports car style.

In Rest mode the entire panel forms a homogeneous black surface. When activated, the numbers on the circular instruments are generated electronically along with other symbols on the display.

(Source: BMW)