Just as the leaked photos and spy video portended, the 2011 BMW 5 Series now looks like a 7 Series and has grown closer to the 7er in size and weight as well. The F10, as it's called internally, also has a more potent and fuel-efficient engine lineup. It goes on sale in Europe this January and will reach the United States in June 2010. "Pricing still hasn't been finalized," BMW officials tell us, "but we may see little or no price hike at all on the 535i." So that puts it around $51,925 to start.
Contributing to the enhanced size of the new 5 Series is a longer, 116.9-inch wheelbase, a stretch of 3.2 inches. The sedan also measures 192.9 inches from tip to tail (2.3 inches longer), 73.2 inches wide (0.5 inches wider) and 57.6 inches high (0.2 inches shorter). The new 535i weighs about 3,900 pounds, while the 2011 550i weighs about 4,200 pounds -- an increase of roughly 250 pounds on both.
In the U.S., said engines will initially include BMW's new N55 inline six, which uses a single, twin-scroll turbocharger (instead of two turbos) to develop 306 hp at 5,800 rpm, plus 295 lb-ft of torque from 1,200 rpm to 5,000 rpm. This will of course be the engine in the 2011 BMW 535i, and BMW claims a 0-to-100-km/h (62 mph) time of 6 seconds flat.
The 2010 BMW 550i will feature the recently introduced, twin-turbo, intercooled, direct-injection 4.4-lite V8, which features its turbos tucked into the valley between the cylinder banks. It develops 407 hp between 5,500 rpm and 6,400 rpm, plus 442 pound-feet of torque between 1,750 and 4,500 rpm. BMW claims the BMW 550i will accelerate to 100 km/h from a standstill in 5.0 seconds.
For transmissions, there's the excellent new eight-speed automatic that we've sampled in the 5 Series Gran Turismo, and for a very small percentage of 535i buyers, a new six-speed manual gearbox with dry-sump oiling. The manual gearbox take rate among 5 Series buyers in the U.S. was only 5 percent, you see.
More photos after the jump.
IL News: 2011 BMW 5 Series Debuts in Grand Munich Presentation
IL News: 2011 BMW 5 Series Sedan: Power and Performance
1487 says:
12:03 PM, 11/23/09
The current 550i only weighs 3700lbs? That doesn't sound right. The 535 weighs about that much and the M5 weighs about 4000lbs.
Either way, this car is heavy.
doesn't look bad, but not really better than current one. Scaled down 7 series inside and out. I wish they would've made it more unique. A6 interior is still better.
walking_dead says:
12:12 PM, 11/23/09
The last 5, really pushed the envelope of design, everyone was a critic and people blasted Bangle, but in the end he won. How? Flame surfacing was copied by almost everyone and here we are with a "safer" design that pulls punches.
very generic, very safe and not surprising.
I'll miss the old 5, the feline eyes and angel wing LED taillights, it was Bauhaus, it was sinister in the M5 form
1487 says:
12:19 PM, 11/23/09
I never thought the last 5 was ugly. The first 2002 7 series was sort of ugly however. The 2004 5 and 2006 3 series were fine. They toned down Bangle's nonsense and the results were acceptable. This is just dull looking.
auto4fun says:
12:24 PM, 11/23/09
Don't compare apples to oranges! The weight of the 2010 E60 550i is 3946 lb with a manual transmission and 3968 with the auto, which means the F10 550i is only 66 lbs heavier than the equivalent E60. The 375 lbs you were quoting was comparing the 535i w/ manual to the new 550i with auto. I'm all for successive generations losing weight rather than gaining it, but lets be accurate in our comparisons!
1487 says:
12:37 PM, 11/23/09
auto4fun:
That makes more sense.
Someone should tell BMW that the CTS has a manual because they claim no competing car has a manual available. I assume that's supposed to indicate that they feel they are too good to even consider the CTS as a competitor.
pyo_s65 says:
12:38 PM, 11/23/09
@auto4fun: I was going to comment the same thing since I don't remember the E60 to be that much lighter.
@1487: I see much of the 3 series' design elements as well, which is also consistent with the 7. At least now they can put all 3 next to each other and see a progression unlike the previous generation's, where almost nothing is similar.
eriches says:
12:47 PM, 11/23/09
@auto4fun, pyo_s65: Curb weights have been updated for enhanced believability. But bear in mind, hard numbers are a bit of a guess at this point, since U.S. media are working with numbers converted from German specifications. It's not just a metric-to-standard issue -- certain measurements are taken differently in Europe. And this goes for horsepower and torque on the engines, too. -- Erin Riches
1487 says:
01:04 PM, 11/23/09
pyo:
I am for family resemblance, but not the EXACT same styling in different lengths. This is basically a shorter 7 series.
Thanks for correcting those curb weight figures. 250lbs seems very believable considering the electronic overkill on this car. Now that the 5 series is officially heavy I hope we hear less whining about how other cars are supposedly too heavy.
walking_dead says:
01:18 PM, 11/23/09
1487:
back to sausages i guess,
here is a good article
http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2009/08/2009-bmw-750i-you-owe-chris-bangle-an-apology.html
cr_driver says:
05:27 PM, 11/23/09
Amazing car, almost perfect engines,more technology,a very beautifully designed interior, with a very good exterior.
billt9 says:
06:04 PM, 11/23/09
This car is beautiful.
All the luxury midsizers are around 3900-4400 lbs.
A luxury large sedan is 5000 lbs, like an 4950 lb MB S600, or a 5026 lb BMW 760 Li.
Some people's minds are not very well calibrated with the typical weights of cars.
lexusaddict says:
08:15 PM, 11/23/09
what this is really is, is a 3 series in late puberty, on the edge of becoming a 7 series...i couldn't notice it easily from a distance whether it is a 3 series or a 5 series...the back is so weird i doubt i will mess up...and that swooshing center console is straight off the 2010 Lexus RX...but hey! BMW finally used their Bangle butt brains and decided to put one of the exhausts ON THE OTHER SIDE. after decades...they figure it out....yeah...top notch.
1487 says:
06:01 AM, 11/24/09
having dual outlets on the same side was always an annoyance to me. Especially on a car like the 5 series.
I don't see this as an improvement, its very safe, very generic. Very forgettable.