BMW 5 Series
| BMW 5 Series | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | BMW |
| Production | 1972–present |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Mid-size luxury / Executive car (E) |
| Body style | 4-door sedan 5-door station wagon ("Touring") 5-door liftback |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | BMW New Class |
The BMW 5 Series is a mid-size luxury car manufactured by German automaker BMW since 1972. It is the successor to the 4-door sedan models of the BMW New Class and is currently in its seventh generation.
Initially, the 5 Series was only available in a sedan body style. The touring body style was added in 1991 and the 5-door hatchback ("Gran Touring") was added in 2009.
It is BMW's second best-selling model after the 3-Series and in 2010 produced about 50% of the BMW's profits.
On January 29, 2008, the 5 millionth 5 Series was manufactured, a 530d Saloon in Carbon Black Metallic.
The 5 Series got its name by being the fifth of the "new series" cars after the V-8 and Isetta era and was the replacement for the older four-door New Class sedans. The current BMW naming convention began with the first 5 Series.
Currently, seven main generations of BMW 5 Series have followed one another:
Most years have seen a Motorsport version of the 5 series, called the BMW M5.
The E12 5 Series was produced from 1972–1981 (produced until 1984 in South Africa). The E12 is the first series to bear the 5 Series name: the '5' denoting BMW's fifth 'New Class' platform. Designed as a replacement for the BMW New Class mid-size sedan, the E12 5 Series models were smaller than the large BMW E3 sedan but larger than the two-door 2002 models.
The first generation's body was styled by Paul Bracq and Pietro Frua, based on the Bertone 1970 BMW Garmisch 2002ti Geneva show car. The E12 was available only in the sedan body style with a manual transmission. There was an automatic transmission available for US and Japan-only versions.
...
Wikipedia