It turns out that the luxury German marquee, BMW, is quietly testing the 2017 model year 5-Series. Fortunately enough for all of us, the test mules of the model were caught on tape as they were undertaking company evaluation processes. Yes, we said ‘test mules’ because there was a fleet of the model that got caught on tape instead of just one unit. All these test mules were seemingly undertaking some winter testing of sorts.
While spotted, the cars in the fleet seemed to be bearing a production body. This can be seen from a number of newly designed elements, such as, the air vents on the front end of the car, A-pillar layout and even door handles. In addition to those elements, it can also be seen in the adjacent spy video that the new 5-Series model features a horizontal character line that spans across the doors. The rear windshield also seems to be flatter this time around.
There is one pretty interesting sight, though, in the fleet of the 2017 BMW 5-Series test mules.
You may have noticed that among the 5-Series, there is also the next generation BMW 7-Series involved in the winter testing. It is not hard to tell that the car is a 7-Series model, thanks to its considerably large body proportions, huge exhaust pipes and also the more exposed taillights which seem to have a completed production visual styling.
Report has it both the upcoming 5- and 7-Series models from BMW are to benefit from the 35up chassis. If this is correct, the 5-Series could have its weight reduced by a massive 100 kg. This is also achieved by the use of carbon fiber and aluminum materials, both of which are light in weight. The significantly reduced weight will also enable the engineers at BMW to implant a 3-cylinder engine on the vehicle. This engine will supposedly be derived from BMW 2-Series Active and Gran Tourer models.
It is also a known fact that a quad-turbo BMW M550xd model is in the works while a plug-in hybrid version has also been spotted. Again, as always, the M5 will be sitting at the top of the range and it is believed the car will boast 626 HP of power and that an all-wheel-drive (AWD) layout will be optionally available for the model.
If you are interested in purchasing the BMW 5-Series sedan, perhaps you will have to wait until June next year. Then, in November 2016, the BMW 5-Series Touring will also go on sale following its sedan counterpart. Lastly, since the people of China are just so in love with the BMW 5-Series Gran Turismo, the model will make an appearance once again.
