2009 BMW 5 Series sedan spied
July 17, 2009 by George Skentzos
With slightly less of BMW’s trademark spiral camouflage covering this prototype, these shots are our best glimpse yet of the new generation BMW 5 Series sedan.
Featuring prominently at the front is also our first look at BMW’s latest interpretation of the twin-kidney grille, with sources in Europe claiming the new 5 Series will move away from the polarizing design of the current model.
Using the internal codename “F10″, the new generation 5 Series will soften the harder lines of the current E60 with more conventional-looking headlights and a cleaner front-end design.
As is typical with most BMW redesigns, the new 5 Series will boast an extended wheelbase by nearly ten centimetres along with a widened track.
The overall length is expected to grow by less than two centimetres thanks to a shorter front overhang forced by new European pedestrian safety standards.
Base power will likely come from a 2.5-litre straight-six while top-range models will use the current 4.8-litre V8 with turbocharging likely to be on the cards.
Print it: 
This is looking like the logical successor to the beautifully-proportioned E39 series of 1995-2003. It’s as though the hideous Bangle-Tangle current model never needed to exist.
Maybe these guys are slowly coming to their senses.
Isn’t it 2009 already?
Is this meant to be 2010 BMW 5 series?
Looks nice, I don’t mind the 5 series =].
looks like a bloated 3 series to me…disapointing guys…what happend to the gorgeous CS Concept styling cues??
I think it looks like it will be very handsome, but it is a bit heavy looking. I too would like to see more CS in their new cars, that’s a design language I can understand. I want BMWs to be stunning again. I personally haven’t minded any of the BMWs that everybody else seems to hate; I actually think the current 5 Series looks bit boring if anything, but they aren’t stunning.
And just to clarify, by stunning, I don’t mean take the Audi way out and add hundreds of LEDs. I think LEDs look great on cars, but they are getting a tad common.
Hmmm, looks like every other BMW, no radical changes but the signature grille is getting uglier and uglier in proportion to the rest of the body.
Alex Says:
July 17th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
“And just to clarify, by stunning, I don’t mean take the Audi way out and add hundreds of LEDs. I think LEDs look great on cars, but they are getting a tad common.”
I agree – Porsche and MB have joined the party. BMW’s “angel eyes” are bright enough as they are and signify the car is “BMW” from a distance, and LED technology is utilised through the rest of the car lighting, especially the rear.
Yes quite nice. Less confronting is more appealing I say.
Side profile looks very VE Commodore…
Devil666 Says: July 17th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Side profile looks very VE Commodore.
….and that’s a bad thing how exactly…?
Wheelnut: “…and that’s a bad thing how exactly…?”
Umm, because the 5 Series will be at least 2 times more expensive? Common sense really.
For those of you complaining that it looks like every other BMW, that is not a bad thing. BMW (and Mercedes for that matter) have remained consistent throughout the years and as a result have a higher resale value. Audi on the other hand change their design language every 15 minutes and therefore suffer from poor resale.
Please. don’t ever decorate a bimmer like that in front of me. That hurts the eyes and my better sense of taste, not to mention – makes a bimmer lover very nauseous.
I agree with Myke that the sameness of a BMW is not a bad thing.
They need to bring back Bangle. Their designs are looking drab and boring and dont have the contraversy Bangle had, its what I liked about BMW
What’s wrong with BMW nowadays, this car is not nice to look at. BMW’s style department is somewhat lacking lately, just look at this car. I hardly recognized it as Series 5 or BMW for that matter.
Wow this actually looks slightly better than the current 5, maybe these woodies are learning a lesson about how ugly cars dont sell, even when they have poser badges on them…..
BMW rules, mercedes and audi lag far behind…