Autoblog

Click above to view a high-res version courtesy of AutoExpress.

According to AutoExpress, the next generation BMW 5-series will be offered as a hatchback, along with its standard sedan and wagon counterparts. The Brit pub supposedly has it on good authority that the new hatch design will be similar to the "TwinDoor" feature offered on the Skoda Superb, which allows the driver to raise either the trunk alone or the rear window and trunk simultaneously. If employed on the new 5-series, storage – with the rear seats folded flat – could approach X5 levels. Expect to see the new 5er launched in 2010.

[Source: AutoExpress]

It's no surprise that BMW plans to attempt to bring its uber-saloon up to AMG-levels of power when the new M5 debuts in 2011. That means that output needs to surpass the current model's paltry 501 hp, so BMW will bore out the current V10 to 5.5-liters, slap on a couple of turbos and use direct-injection to bringing power levels up to 550 hp, or more. Grunt will be shoveled to the rear wheels via either a six-speed manual transmission or the new seven-speed M DCT dual-clutch 'box.

But it's not all about pavement-pummeling power. The use of the twin-turbochargers and DI is as much an attempt to reduce emissions as it is to boost output, and BMW is intent on making the next 5-series, due out in 2010, one of its most fuel-efficient vehicles. That means that start-stop technology will be used on the engine, along with its Efficient Dynamics system that uses regenerative braking to reduce load on the alternator, improving both fuel economy and engine output.

[Source: Autocar]

With cars everywhere going all edgy, it should be clear that Chris Bangle's controversial "flame surfacing" design language has left its mark. Whether it ever looked right on the BMW 5-Series, however, is still up for debate, even after the mid-life facelift. (Not that it has stopped BMW from rolling out its 5,000,000th 5-Series earlier this week.) However the 5 is due for replacement late next year, and our friends at eGMCarTech think they have a good idea of what it will look like.

Codenamed E62, the 2010 5-Series is widely anticipated to draw on the new styling direction previewed by the CS Concept which BMW laid on us in Shanghai. That means a wider grille flanked by slanty eyes, while around back the tail-lights are expected to follow the widely-spaced units seen on the new 3-Series. The range of engines will carry on largely unchanged from the current 5-Series, although there's been buzz about a twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 with around 400 horsepower to slot in below the next M5.

[Source: eGMCarTech]