BMW reveals the Long-Wheel-Base 5-Series F10

Kowalski

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2005
Messages
515
Location
Manchester, UK
PRESS RELEASE

BMW 5-Series Sedan Long Wheel Base Edition 'Li'
  • Developed and built exclusively for the Chinese car market
  • Built at BMW?s plant in Shenyang in cooperation with a large number of regional partners
  • Wheelbase increased by 14 centimetres or 5.5"
  • High-comfort rear seat bench developed specifically for this model
  • Unique options: Four-zone automatic air conditioning, rear-seat entertainment, a cooling box as well as electrically adjustable sunblinds on the rear side windows and a folding table integrated in the backrest of the front passenger?s seat

Munich. World premiere of the new long-wheelbase BMW 5 Series Sedan: Developed and built exclusively for the Chinese car market, this truly exclusive sedan sets new standards in aesthetics, driving pleasure and comfort in the premium business sedan segment. Through its sporting but elegant design, the new long-wheelbase BMW 5 Series Sedan is truly impressive from every angle, pampering particularly the passengers at the rear with luxury class space and innovative features also typical of the luxury class.

New straight-six power units and a wide range of BMW EfficientDynamics technologies ensure superior sportiness combined with trendsetting efficiency. Sophisticated suspension technology ensures significant progress both in driving comfort and dynamic handling. The new long-wheelbase BMW 5 Series Sedan is built at BMW?s plant in Shenyang in cooperation with a large number of regional partners.


Design: sporting elegance in individual style.

The highly expressive front end, the elegantly stretched silhouette and the powerfully chiselled rear end give the new long-wheelbase BMW 5 Series Sedan a truly unmistakable look. Individual design features along the roofline and the side view of the car ensure that the long-wheelbase version with its wheelbase up by 14 centimetres or 5.5? again offers the right balance of proportions. The long side windows, for example, give the C-pillar a particularly slender and dynamic appearance, the coup?-like, flowing roofline comes out even more convincingly through the sheer length of the car. The characteristic daytime driving lights generated by LED light rings in conjunction with the optional xenon headlights, as well as the L-shaped rear lights with their homogeneous rows of lights, again contribute to that very special look so characteristic of BMW.


Interior: clear orientation towards the driver at the front, luxurious grand touring comfort at the rear.

The interior of the new long-wheelbase BMW 5 Series Sedan combines the driver-oriented cockpit and the high-tech instrument cluster in Black Panel technology with a truly luxurious ambience, lots of space at the rear, and exclusive model features. The new long-wheelbase sedan comes with a high-comfort rear seat bench developed specifically for this model. Supreme grand touring comfort is ensured, among other things, by options such as four-zone automatic air conditioning, rear-seat entertainment, a cooling box as well as electrically adjustable sunblinds on the rear side windows and a folding table integrated in the backrest of the front passenger?s seat, unique features unparalleled by the competition.


Driving experience: superior sportiness, supreme comfort.

Benefiting from the most advanced drivetrain and suspension technology, the new model offers significantly greater sportiness and comfort over its predecessor. The range of engines comprises three straight-six power units developing between 150 kW/204 hp and 225 kW/306 hp maximum output. A unique feature in this segment is the combination of a double wishbone front axle and the integral rear axle tailored to each individual model. And on the top-of-the-range BMW 535Li, Dynamic Drive Control allows an individual set-up of the car.


BMW EfficientDynamics for outstanding fuel economy and emission management.

All versions of the new long-wheelbase BMW 5 Series Sedan come as standard with eight-speed automatic transmission making an additional contribution to the car?s efficiency just like EPS Electric Power Steering. The highlights of BMW EfficientDynamics on board the car include Brake Energy Regeneration, on-demand control of ancillary units, and active air flap control. Fuel consumption and CO2 are down versus the previous models by up to 18 per cent.


Innovative driver assistance systems from BMW ConnectedDrive.

BMW ConnectedDrive offers features such as BMW Night Vision able to detect individual persons, the BMW Parking Assistant and Lane Departure Warning, that is driver assistance technologies of the highest standard. Another option exclusive to BMW in this segment is the Head-Up Display.


Developed exclusively for China, built at BMW Plant Shenyang.

The new long-wheelbase BMW 5 Series Sedan has been developed exclusively for the Chinese automobile market. In its features and qualities, it specifically follows the requirements made of a truly outstanding business sedan in the premium segment. Production at BMW Plant Shenyang, on the other hand, follows the high, worldwide standards of the BMW Group in terms of quality, safety, and sustainability. Significant investments were made for production of the new model in the expansion and modernisation of production facilities, and additional, specially trained employees have been hired to build the car. Close and intense cooperation with local production partners and suppliers, finally, convinces BMW that Plant Shenyang offers significant input for the intelligent creation of values.

Videos

[YOUTUBE]_g3SUrU4hFU[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE]GqLtM_qr2_w[/YOUTUBE]

Exterior




Interior




Production Photos

 
Last edited:
Why do chinese people need long wheel base cars if they're all smaller than the rest of the world's population?
 
What's wrong with a SWB 7-series?
 
Pointless.
 
It seems to me that the relevance of the topics of new threads in the news section is decreasing every day. IIRC, they also sell a stretched version of the A6 in China and loads of other cars. Nothing new to see here.
 
Why do chinese people need long wheel base cars if they're all smaller than the rest of the world's population?

Its not that they need, its that they want and BMW is smart to offer them it.
 
It seems to me that the relevance of the topics of new threads in the news section is decreasing every day. IIRC, they also sell a stretched version of the A6 in China and loads of other cars. Nothing new to see here.

I'm still curious why the Chinese car market gets LWB versions of midsize luxury cars (A6, STS, and now 5-Series) instead of just buying the A8 and 7-Series like the rest of the world does. What's the appeal?
 
^^ When you buy a 'large' car like the A8 or the 7 Series, it attracts lots more attention than a 5er would, and this can be attention you don't want, especially with the sky-high crime rates there. And in China, many people hire drivers (even Camry/STS/CTS/Crown owners) due to cheap labour, and this model targets specifically to these people. Also, in my visit to China a little over a year ago, most BMW 5ers I saw were the LWBs, and there were barely any 'regular' ones. So, I don't see why BMW should not offer this option.

Remember, the Chinese don't usually always think practically, you need to know them/be one of them to understand :p
 
The previous gen car looks sooo much better. I want bangle back :(
 
Yeah, there are a lot of China-only stretched cars like the Audi A6L, Cadillac SLS, and now this. All the people who actually know about China have posted about chauffeurs, so I won't repeat their explanations. BMW knows what it's getting into with this car, armchair critics be damned.
 
The previous gen car looks sooo much better. I want bangle back :(

This IS a Bangle project, approved by him before he left last year. It was designed by Adrian van Hooydonk, true, but Bangle had his hand in it and signed off on it before he bailed. So it's definitely a Bungled By Bangle project; hopefully some of the last ones we'll ever have inflicted on us.

AFAIAC, van Hooydonk should be fired as well - along with anyone who had anything to do with ol' Bungle. You should see what he's done to BMW motorcycles, they're mostly hideous now.

DSCN4767.jpg


2009-bmw-1300-5.jpg
 
Last edited:
BMW motorcycles have been uber-Bauhaus for a while now, I think far longer than Bangle has been involved (does he even do bike design?), and I personally kind of like it. It's not sexy like a good Ducati design, but it's still very cool in my opinion. Much more my flavor than some of the Transformers-ish stuff coming out of the Japanese four right now.
 
The BMW S 1000 RR would have looked so much better if they had just kept the prototype design.
2009_BMW_S1000RR_05.jpg
vs
2010-bmw-s-1000-rr-motorcycle.jpg


If I buy one I would have to rip off half the fairing and that exhaust and put some good aftermarket race-spec parts on it.
But that is the case with all liter bikes nowadays somehow. The 600s always look far better and less wonky overdesigned.
 
Last edited:
P90058673.jpg


"Oh shit, I have no idea what I'm doing. I'll just sit here and pretend I understand what it says."
 
Yeah, there are a lot of China-only stretched cars like the Audi A6L, Cadillac SLS, and now this. All the people who actually know about China have posted about chauffeurs, so I won't repeat their explanations. BMW knows what it's getting into with this car, armchair critics be damned.

The LWB models are generally build in China to avoid import taxes, if I remember correctly. So all the people who posted here, asking for the point of this car, show that they have little understanding of the car market in general.
 
Top