Carbon or Kevlar Boot Lid for BMW 5-Series and M5 Sedans from Lumma Design

The maker of the outrageous CLR500 RS BMW M5 is now offering owners of the current generation BMW 5-Series and M5 models the chance to outfit their sedans with two 'uber' lightweight boot lids with an integrated spoiler made from either carbon or kevlar. Priced at €4,700, the full carbon bootlid weighs in at 8kg or 17.3 lbs and its exterior is made out of carbon while the interior surface from a mix of carbon and kevlar. According to Lumma Design, carbon is four times more solid than aluminum and 80% lighter than steel.

Buyers with a more limited budget can opt for the kevlar bootlid that weighs 14kg or 30.9 lbs and costs €2,618. In both cases the bootlids are designed to be mounted on the original attachment points.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

2010 BMW 5-Series Sedan, Touring and Gran Turismo Spied together in France

One of Carscoop's readers stumbled upon a whole convoy of 2010 BMW 5-Series prototypes this morning as he was heading for his morning chores in the centre of St Remy de Provence in the south of France. Martin O'Connor was quick to snap these photos depicting the whole 2010 BMW 5-Series 'familia' that consisted of the four-door sedan, the station-wagon Touring and of course, the 5-door liftback-thingamajig that the Bavarian's call Gran Turismo.

It is expected that BMW will perform the world debut of the production 5-Series Gran Turismo (see the concept here) at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show in September with the sedan and touring variants following suite in a major car show in 2010. Sales of all three body-styles will begin next year.

Powertrain options for the new 5-Series range will consist of naturally aspirated and turbocharged gasoline engines including the revamped 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged inline-six with 326HP and the 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 with 408HP, plus the usual turbo diesels.

At the top of the range buyers will find the M5 sedan and Touring models powered by a new twin-turbocharged V8 engine delivering well over 500HP that will make its first appearance on the X5 M and X6 M replacing the current M5/M6's 507HP V10.

Photo Credits and our Thanks go to Martin O'Connor

2010 BMW 5-Series Gran Turismo - Production Version Revealed

BMW decided to give us a preview of the production 5-Series Gran Turismo through an official video featuring an interview with the car's project manager, Hans-Jurgen Branz. Compared to the Geneva concept car, not much has changed on the outside as the only significant differences seem to concern the conventional exterior mirrors and alloy wheels. The interior however is another story as BMW toned down the design and removed the funky trim options in favor of a more production-style look. Hit the jump for the video and a gallery with screen shots of the 5-Series GT that will be officially introduced at the Frankfurt Show this September.

Via: Autoblog.it , Source: BMW

BMW 5-series Gran Turismo

BMW 5-series Gran Turismo Price: £40,810 to £53,490

Before the GT label became appended to almost any car with sporty pretensions, the words Grand Tourer referred to long-legged, cross-continent touring in some level of luxury – and for that definition this new version of the BMW 5-series surely fits the bill.

Slightly shorter than a 7-series and available with a range of powerful engines, it combines comfort with a high level of performance and reassuring handling.

Claimed by the German firm to combine an “understated coupe silhouette” with the “luxurious interior of a 7-series”, it costs from £40,810.

BMW says it is the 19th “distinct model shape to be offered in the BMW portfolio”, and that it offers headroom equivalent to that of the X5 SUV.

The rear seats can be moved 100mm fore or aft to either increase the boot space or provide greater legroom for rear seat passengers. Even with the deats in the foremost position, legroom is simply not an issue.

With the rear seats moved forwards, the seat backs folded virtually flat and the parcel shelf removed and stowed beneath the luggage compartment floor, bulkier objects can be transported. A two-piece tailgate is claimed to be a first in the premium segment.

The Gran Turismo comes with many of the EfficientDynamics technologies already present on other BMWs. Brake Energy Regeneration, which recharges the vehicle’s battery during engine over-run, is standard. Active aerodynamics also play a part in the range’s efficiency, by closing flaps behind the trademark ‘kidney’ grilles to improve the aerodynamics.

BMW 5-Series

There is a reason why V.I.P. cars come from Japan, which is the only explanation for this midsize German luxury sedan’s bold appearance. The Japanese tuning house Wald Intenational has just finished working on this M5 look sports line body kit that has the ability to make an ordinary E60 5 Series look like the fire breathing V10 powered super sedan that almost all BMW owners dream of driving, and now thanks to Wald International, those dreams can come true for a lot less mullah.

The most striking part of the Wald Internation sports line body kit is the redesigned front bumper that looks like it could have been lifted directly from an M5, except that the Japanese unit comes complete with a pair of trick fog light housings that go a long way towards upgrading the appearance of the 5 Series sedan. The rest of the Wald sports line kit is made up of a pair of sleeker sports mirrors and a subtle trunk mounted rear spoiler to finish off the high performance theme.

Out back the 5 Series sounds a bit more like the more powerful M5 thanks to a D.T.M. sports muffler complete with a quartett of tips that let the V.I.P. 5 Series be heard from miles away. The tuners at Wald have even set aside some of their Mahora style wheels sized either 19 or 20 inches to go along perfectly with the E60 sports line package. If the complete kit is still out of your reach, the Japanese design house also offers a more affordable set of lower bumper attachments that prvides owners with the same look at a lower price.