BMW Heaven - The Knowledge Base 2.0

Design: Versatile Sportiness, Stylish Elegance, Individual Luxury.

Proportions typical of BMW as a clear sign of dynamic performance.
Long wheelbase and stretched roofline like on a coupé.
Sophisticated, modern and generous interior design for spontaneous ­well-being.
As the first representative of a completely new car segment, the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo, through its exterior design alone, offers a unique combination of versatile sportiness and stylish elegance. Proportions typical of BMW, four doors with frameless windows and a coupé-like roofline all come together to form one harmonious unit authentically reflecting the many qualities of the car.
The interior of the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo is a unique blend of generosity, inspiring, modern style, and luxury tailored specifically to the personal requirements of the car’s occupants. High-class materials, uncompromising premium quality and innovative design features including, for example, the intelligent, flowing lines of the door panels, create the ideal ambience for spontaneous well-being both on the driver’s and front passenger’s seats and at the rear of the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo.
The particular look of the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo so typical of the brand results in particular from the car’s proportions. The long engine compartment lid, generous wheelbase of no less than 3.07 metres or 121", and the greenhouse moved far to the rear all come together to create that dynamic look so characteristic of a BMW.
These features are combined with innovative elements highlighting the unique qualities of the new concept. The extra-large passenger cell, for example, bears clear testimony to the luxurious variability of the interior right from the start. The coupé-like roofline, in turn, merging into the air spoiler lip at the rear, interprets the stylish elegance of a Gran Turismo in a completely new manner.

Front view as a strong sign of power and motion.
The front view of the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo is characterised by the strong presence of the low-slung BMW kidney grille, the large air intakes, and the dual round headlights so typical of the brand. The BMW kidney grille itself is slanted slightly to the front, its upper edge marking the foremost point on the body. The sheer presence of the kidney grille is then further enhanced by the surrounding areas set somewhat further back.
All contour lines on the engine compartment lid and extending out of the side panels of the car seemingly urge to the front, towards the powerful kidney grille. The centre air intake beneath the grille, in turn, is reduced in height and the contours of the headlights tapered out towards the middle of the car.
Like the BMW kidney grille in its sheer size, the Powerdome on the engine compartment lid bears clear testimony to the superior muscle of the engine itself lurking within the passenger compartment. Together with the wheel arches flared far out to the side, the downward-pointing outer flanks on the engine compartment lid boast a cascade-like contour giving the front end of the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo a particularly wide and powerful look.
This impression is further enhanced by the foglamps positioned on the outer edges of the air intake, just as the bright bars finished in Matt Titanium dividing the two outer elements of the air intake and extending over the foglamps accentuate the horizontal and therefore extra-wide look of the front end.

Dual round headlights typical of BMW, unique LED corona rings for the positioning and daytime driving lights.
The inclined dual round headlights extending far into the side panels are further accentuated by the surrounding trim band. Cylindrical in shape, the headlights merge at the top into a matt trim panel acting as the headlight cover and accentuating the typical look of the brand with its strong focus on motion and mobility.
Apart from the direction indicators, the corona rings in the headlights are for the first time formed by LED light units generating a particularly homogenous and bright light to add new and appealing quality to that unique look so characteristic of BMW.
To provide this effect, the LED light units are connected directly to the light ring, creating a consistently illuminated circle of light all round again so typical of a BMW, instead of the conventional light dots.
LED light rings are also featured as standard in the positioning lights of the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo. In combination with the optional xenon lights, the LED light units may indeed be operated in two performance stages: dimmed to approximately 10 per cent of their full power, they serve as positioning lights. Operating at full power, on the other hand, they act as daytime driving lights again in that typical BMW look.

Side view: coupé-like roofline, stretched elegance.
With its smooth flow of lines, the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo once again creates that harmonious connection between the front end of the car, the side view and the rear end so typical of BMW design. A dominating feature from the side is the characteristic waistline on the level of the door openers as yet another sign of BMW. Starting at the outer edge of the headlights, this special contour line rises slightly along the entire length of the car and finally merges into the contours of the rear light clusters.
Again very striking in its look, the sill line continues into the upper edge of the front air intake and the contours of the rear air dam, this interplay of the waistline and sill line giving the entire vehicle an even lower look and emphasising the dynamic wedge shape of the body.
Through its roofline dropping down consistently towards the rear and finally merging into the air spoiler lip, the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo conveys a typical coupé feature to the style and body of a four-door saloon. The innovative character of the car’s design is indeed a clear visual expression of its supreme versatility. And considering the sporting look of the car from outside, the large and truly generous interior of the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo is even more impressive.
The BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo comes both front and rear with doors boasting frameless side windows, thus carrying over this feature of a particularly sporting car into a four-door BMW for the first time.
Through their size and flared design alone, the wheel arches symbolise the sporting potential of the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo.
A further feature again reminiscent of particularly sporting cars is the low mass resting on the front wheels, where the side panels are particularly low, stretched and long. This effect is further enhanced by the horizontal configuration of the individual body sections created by the side-line, the joint and the contour line on the engine compartment.

New interpretation of the “Hofmeister kick”.
The side window graphics proudly bear out the new interpretation of yet another characteristic BMW feature: On the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo the upper window surround and the shaft cover on the rear side window are made out of one and the same element. This three-dimensional shape gives the frame around the “Hofmeister kick” a particularly sophisticated and dynamic look borne out in new style on the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo as a new interpretation of this traditional “kick” so typical of BMW design. Here the inner radius of the “Hofmeister kick” is particularly large, the outer radius is unusually tight, creating an exciting counter-swing to the roofline tapering out gently at this point to the rear.

Powerful rear end with all the style of a classic Gran Turismo.
In its design, the rear end again offers a particularly clear impression of the exceptional features which come with this new concept. The two outer rooflines as well as the shoulder lines, to mention perhaps the most conspicuous example, come together in the spoiler lip on the rear lid, giving the rear end in its fastback style a truly compact appearance.
Overall, the entire rear view of the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo is subdivided by horizontal lines emphasising the sheer width and the powerful stance of the car on the road. At the same time this creates a highly attractive blend of convex and concave surfaces, further sporting excitement being provided by the negatively inclined surface above the chrome band between the rear light clusters proudly bearing the BMW logo.
The rear section reaches its full width around the wheel arches where the distinctive light contour line on the lower part of the bumper adds a further highlight.

Characteristic rear light design: LED light units with homogenous light effects.
The L-shape of the rear light clusters so typical of a BMW has been re-interpreted on the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo, the rows of lights following a truly dynamic sweep. The rear light clusters extend far into the side panels, bringing out the full width of the BMW Gran Turismo also in the car’s night design. Rows of lights fed by LED units create a homogenous illuminated look.
The brake lights and the direction indicators are also made up of LED light units positioned behind the rows of lights and shining even more brilliantly once activated to create a particularly intense, full-depth effect.
The characteristic look of the rows of lights with their harmonious, consistent illumination is a further unmistakable sign of BMW design ensuring a high recall value in road traffic.
The rear light clusters are connected to one another by a band of chrome continuing from the waistline at the side all the way into the line between the rear lights, thus again emphasising the sheer width of the rear end.

Interior design underlining the generous feeling of space.
Generous dimensions and lots of freedom for all occupants are the characteristic features of the interior in the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo.
This unique feeling of space is further enhanced by the interior shapes and the overall interior design of the car, the colour scheme and the choice of materials. The horizontal breakdown of the dashboard and the door panels as well as the general flow of surfaces further enhance this strong impression. The large side windows, finally, strongly accentuate the bright and generous ambience within the car together with the optional panorama glass roof previously only available in the BMW 5 Series Touring and the BMW X models.
As an option the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo comes with two single comfort seats at the rear. On this configuration available as an alternative to the three-piece rear-seat bench featured as standard a centre console separates the two single seats, accommodating cupholders and a storage box as well as other facilities.

Optimum visibility and comfortable entry thanks to the slightly elevated seating position.
On the front seats both the driver and passenger benefit from the slightly elevated seating position, this so-called Semi-Command position offering an optimised overview of traffic conditions and the area around the car. In addition, the configuration specially developed for the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo allows comfortable and very ergonomic access to both the front and rear seats alike.
In the design and layout of the cockpit the structure of horizontally arranged, cascade-like, layered surface areas in different materials and colours strongly emphasises the width of the car. The displays and control elements are clearly separated from one another and are grouped according to their specific functions. Information and control units relevant to the driver are on the side of the cockpit actually facing the driver, while all displays, controls and switches serving to operate comfort functions are in the middle of the dashboard.
The control units on the multifunction steering wheel follow the same logic, again offering the driver maximum safety in controlling the car.
Through its overall design, the instrument panel interacts with the Semi-­Command seats to provide a clear view from above on the control units for the lights and the start/stop button on the centre level of the dashboard tilted at a strong angle to the front. The horizontal orientation of the entire cockpit additionally emphasises the generous character of the interior.

Instrument cluster with colour display in Black Panel technology.
The instrument cluster in the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo is made up of a high-resolution colour display in Black Panel technology presenting four circular instruments in the traditional style of a sports car as well as status and function displays, navigation readings, information from the Check/Control unit, feedback from the control buttons and the Service Interval Indicator relevant to the driver.
Featured from the start as standard in the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo, Black Panel technology ensures particularly precise and, at the same time, sophisticated presentation of all important information.
In conjunction with the optional navigation system Professional, the instrument cluster comes with an even wider range of individual functions. When not in use, the display forms a homogeneous, black surface, the numbers on the dials being generated electronically and thus not becoming visible on the display, like all the other symbols, until activated.
The Control Display for the iDrive control system on the same level as the instrument cluster in typical BMW style is integrated in the middle as a free-standing element in the dashboard. Together with the central air vent, a storage box and the centre console with the control units for the audio and climate functions also in Black Panel technology, the Control Display forms a vertical axis from top to bottom.
To further enhance their particular look and function, the Control Display and the control units on the centre console come in galvanised metal surrounds.

Flowing surfaces in the door panels accentuating the length of the interior.
The trim bar stretching together with a metal band in a powerful sweep over the entire width of the dashboard continues into the door panels. The impression of a fully enclosed area cocooning all of the car’s occupants created in this way is further enhanced by the harmonious design of the panels on the front and rear doors in terms of their shape and colour scheme.
Interplay of ascending and descending lines and contours throughout the entire length of the interior creates a homogeneous look establishing a clear optical connection between the front and rear seats. All lines and the surfaces finished in top-quality materials extend all the way back to the rear seats, giving the interior its truly comfortable and spacious character.
At the same time the dynamic flow of lines not even interrupted by the B-pillars further accentuates the length of the interior so crucial to the generous space available.
A closer look reveals the subtle play of surfaces with individual elements changing not only in shape, but also in function. The centre section of the door panels, for example, is strongly contoured around the front seats and even offers a footrest function. Then, moving back to the rear, these contours come out even more strongly and the entire area turns to the inside, the concave surface created in this way ultimately leading back to the armrests on the rear seats.
In the dark the generous feeling of space within the interior is further accentuated by the ambient light effect, bands of light integrated in the dashboard beneath the trim bar generating indirect illumination in a warm shade of orange.
Light bands are also placed beneath the trim bar around the door panels, discreetly illuminating the armrests.
As an option this ambient light effect may be further enhanced by illuminated entry bars, light bands in the centre console at the front and behind the vertical trim bars at the rear, as well as further sources of light in the area of the centre armrest, the door pockets and on the backs of the front-seat backrests.

Clear concept of materials and colours within the interior.
The concept of materials and colours within the interior enhances the impression of personal luxury inside the passenger compartment as well as the interplay of surfaces and lines. All surfaces within the interior come in top-quality materials, the grained upper surface on the dashboard in its sophisticated look being available in Black and Dark Dolomiti. Apart from classic Black, the other colours are Ivory White, Cinnamon Brown, Veneto Beige, and Everest Grey.
The range of seat colours and materials extends from regular cloth in Black through a combination of cloth and leather and Dakota Leather (standard in the BMW 550i Gran Turismo) all the way to Exclusive Nappa Leather.
All optional seat upholstery variants are available in various colours. The trim bars, in turn, come in silken-matt Satin Silver as well as four different versions of genuine wood over and above the standard finish. On the BMW 550i Gran Turismo genuine wood trim bars are standard from the start.
The paintwork is available with a choice of twelve colours including Damask Red Metallic developed exclusively for the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo.