Spy Shots: BMW 5-Series sedan

Chris Bangle is now chief of design for the BMW Group. Without his hand directly penning the coming crop of new BMWs, new man on campus Adrian van Hooydonk -- who answers to Bangle -- is slowly erasing some of Bangle's more controversial contributions.
Though you can't really tell from Car magazine's spy shots of the next 5-Series, they've been told that "the new 5-series won't be anywhere near as radical as today's E60." With the redesign of the current 7-Series being talked up as a return to traditional elegance, we can probably expect the same from the 5-Series. The car will get a smidge longer, and up front you'll get traces of Concept CS styling, as well as LED eyebrows over the headlights.

What you might not expect is a much greener 5. It will get the roundel's Efficient Dynamics at no extra cost, which shuts off the engine when the car is stopped and unhooks the alternator when the battery is fully charged. It might also get a high-efficiency gearbox with eight -- that's right, a Lexus-like eight -- forward gears. Beyond that, there will be likely be many high-tech aids and five engine choices ranging from a 245-HP 3-liter diesel to the 5-liter 500-HP V10 in the M5. Thanks for the tip, Dave!

[Source: Car magazine]

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