Photo: SB Medien
We’ve been saying for quite some time now that the upcoming models in BMW’s range will surely be hybridized but up until now all we knew was that the new X1, 3 Series and 7er will be getting this treatment. As it turns out, we just received confirmation that the 5 Series will also join this club thanks to a set of new spyshots.
In it, we can obviously notice that the G30 prototype we’re looking at has two fuel caps, one in the traditional spot and one on the front left wing. That’s right, the new 5 Series will be extremely eco-friendly and fuel efficient.
Thanks to the preview BMW showed us last year, we have an idea of the extent to which hybrids from Bavaria can go. The thing is, the top spec GT model shown by the Germans might not be what we’re looking at here. Instead of over 600 HP from three electric motors, what we’re dealing with on the normal 5er might be closer to 100 ‘electric’ horses and the rest coming from internal combustion mills.
Even so, since the new chassis is supposed to shed a lot of weight (some saying near 200 kg/440 lbs) the efficiency of such a car would be a lot above what the current line-up is showing.
Another possibility would be to see the fuel cell technology BMW has been working on with Toyota but that scenario has a smaller chance of success.
No matter what, the new 5 Series will be borrowing tech from the G11 7er that is going to be launched later this year, at the Frankfurt Auto Show. That means we might see the new iDrive system with touchscreens all around, the new augmented reality and a plethora of autonomous safety systems that could even drive the car for us.
On top of all that tech, the new B-family engines will also be introduced along with some new monikers. The M550d model for example, might grow in power and torque and migrate from a tri-turbo setup to a quad-turbo one while the 535d bi-turbo plant could be making 330 HP in the future. It’s all pretty far-fetched but most of these suppositions will come true when the car will be revealed, most likely in 2016 as a 2017 model year.
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