New BMW 5 Series pictures leaked online

Fifth Gear  Monday 23 November 2009

Official pictures of BMW’s new 5 Series have leaked online ahead of the car’s official unveil later this evening.

The partially disguised pictures reveal a few more details, but sources at the company have already hinted that the latest 5 Series will be more conservatively styled than the outgoing model, with less panel flaring in an effort to appeal to an even wider audience. As you can see from this leaked picture, though, the latest 5 Series gets a larger kidney grille at the front-end than the old car.

This version of the 5 Series shares a platform with the recently launched 5 Series GT (itself a chopped down version of the 7 Series platform) so it will be a larger car than the model it replaces, offering greater interior space. Yet BMW sources say the latest 5 will be no heavier than the outgoing model – even thought the abandoned its efforts to build key parts of the car from aluminium, instead going for all-steel.

No extra weight and more efficient, modern engines should make the 5 Series much more efficient than its predecessor. You can guarantee that BMW – the company pioneering its EfficientDynamics programme – will be looking to break new fuel economy barriers with the launch of this big-selling model.

We also know the company has started work on the new M5, which will feature turbo charging for the first time. More tomorrow…