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2017 BMW G30 5 Series Plug-In Hybrid Begins Nurburgring Tests

The new BMW 5 Series is already in the works, following in the steps of its bigger brother, the 7 Series that is pretty much completed. Just as we anticipated, the G30 version will be borrowing technology from the G11 7er and will come out somewhere in 2017.
2017 BMW G30 5 Series plug-in hybrid spyshots 27 photos
Photo: SB Medien
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That’s still a long way to go, and it would allow the mid-size sedan to take up some of the more interesting bits from the flagship model. Since the limousine that will be launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show this year will have a plethora of new tech on board, it’s interesting to see how much will drip down to other cars.

Apparently, the plug-in hybrid powertrain will be amongst them, as our latest batch of spyshots seems to suggest. If you look closely, you’ll notice that one of the prototypes photographed by our carparazzi on the Green Hell has an additional 'fuel cap' on the left front fender.

That can only suggest that the car we’re looking at has an electric motor somewhere that gets its juice from a battery pack that is, in turn, recharged using the port hidden under that cap. The question is: what combination will BMW use.

The 7 Series will get a 740e version that will use the same powertrain as the X5 xDrive40e. That means that there will be a 2-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged plant working under the bonnet and an electric motor helping out, encompassed within the gearbox.

Together, they deliver 313 HP and 450 Nm (332 lb-ft) at most, enough even for a heavy X5. Since the 740e is expected to be a lot lighter on its feet, it could also get better EV range than the 19 miles of the xDrive40e.

At the same time, the story could repeat itself on the 5 Series that should, in turn, be lighter than the 7 Series, using CFRP and aluminum aplenty. The question remains: will it use the same 2-liter engine or a smaller 1.5-liter 3-cylinder one?

Our bet is on both. We don’t have any insider info, but something tells us that the 1.5-liter B38 engine will make its way under the bonnet of the new 5er but only in combination with an electric motor. The result could be a 528e model that would have around 250 HP and 350 Nm (258 lb-ft) of torque.
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