Grand aspirations

BMW launches a 5 Series hatch called the GT and causes a stir!

BMW isn’t your average risk-averse large scale manufacturer of cars. In fact, if anything, they have been bold enough to try out the unexplored. And in some cases, they’ve been very successful. While the 1 Series, a rear wheel driven hatch, hasn’t stoked the fires of the B-segment in Europe, the X6 has managed to be a modest success, even in these times where the environmental and stock bourses have been on completely opposite paths as far as the fate of luxury SUVs is concerned. But the company hasn’t let a depressed world economy or the rise of eco warriors affect their creative genius. And in the middle of this melee, they’ve launched the BMW 5 Series Grand Touring.

So what’s special about the 5 Series GT? Well, it marries BMW’s Sports Activity Vehicle concept with a Touring — which means it gets a hatch. Yes, you’ve read that right, and before you draw your ninja swords out, let’s give the concept a sound hearing, shall we? BMW believes a market exists for a 5 Series owner who wants the practicality of a hatch, without it being an estate, and yet offers the luxury of a saloon and the slightly high seating position of a crossover. Confused? Well, it could have been called the 5 Series Allroad (a take on the Audi A4 Allroad) if they’d slapped on on-off road tyres. But they haven’t. If you look closer, you will also notice that the hatch is of the Skoda Superb variety — a two stage unit — but BMW claim they weren’t aware of the Czech manufacturer’s developments, as it was conceived quite some time before Skoda launched the car. The overall design language too is in the mould of the new 7 Series, so you get a prominent bonnet with muscular lines, large headlamps, deeper kidney grille and a very prominent waist line. And if you thought it doesn’t have any similarity with the current 5 Series, it’s because it’s an all-new platform, which will also be the genesis for the 5 Series saloon when it is shown to the world at the Frankfurt Motor Show this September. So now you know why the GT is being discussed here!

On the inside, there are lots of new features, including the new dashboard design theme seen on the 7 Series as well as the new i-Drive unit. BMW boasts that the GT has as much legroom for its rear occupants as the 7 Series, thanks to clever incorporation of seats that can be adjusted in a myriad of ways. The rear seats, for example, can move forward by four inches, thus enhancing the boot space from 440 litres to 590 litres.

As far as drivetrains are concerned, the 5 Series GT will be powered with three engines to begin with. The 535i will feature BMW’s twin-turbo 3.0-litre straight six petrol engine with 306 bhp of max power, while the 550i will feature the 7 and X6 derived twin-turbo V8 with 407 bhp of max power. The 530d will be the only diesel option for now.