The New BMW 5 Series Saloon: More Dynamic, More Spacious, More Innovative

A totally new shape to be launched in the Middle East in Autumn 2003
The totally new 5 Series features a sporty, elegant and powerful-looking
design, more space and more comfort as well as being a dynamic performer
on the road through the concept of innovative technologies. Powered
by a six-cylinder power unit, the 530i with a 3.0 litre engine
producing 231 horsepower, and featuring BMW's unique smooth-silken
bi-VANOS spark ignition engines. Acceleration is exhilarant: from 0 to
100 km/h in 6.9 seconds and top speed is 250 km/h. The new 5 Series
combines the dynamics and sporty flair of the 3 Series with the
supremacy and presence of the BMW 7 Series. Through its design alone,
the new Saloon forms the powerful centrepoint within the BMW model
range. The muscular front end with its unmistakable curved headlight
clusters featuring dual headlights bear testimony to the car's sporting
and dynamic character. Larger and more spacious than its predecessor,
the new 5 Series is lighter due to innovative lightweight construction.
The design language of the 5 Series' interior is harmonious featuring
clear lines and a sophisticated range of individualized colours and
materials. The new Saloon offers more space above all at the rear and
has a much larger luggage compartment than its predecessor. Featuring
the world's first Active Front Steering as well as active Dynamic Drive
stabilisation as optional equipoment, the new 5 Series allows the driver
to enjoy an unprecedented synthesis of agility, handling and driving
comfort all in one. Providing a wide range of run-flat tyres for the
new 5 Series, BMW is also enhancing the leadership of the marque in the
introduction of such safety tyres with failsafe running
characteristics. Introducing adaptive headlights, BMW is offering yet
another networked system in the new 5 Series as an option, thus
providing a significant improvement of active safety on the road. With
this system, the two bi-xenon headlights are controlled in real time as
a function of the steering wheel angle, yaw rate and road speed,
perfectly illuminating the road ahead in a bend. The new 5 Series comes
for the first time with Active Cruise Control (ACC). This radar-based
assistant is specially developed for driving on the motorway, making it
much easier, in particular, to drive smoothly in convoys by
automatically controlling the distance from the vehicle ahead. With the
cockpit based on BMW's iDrive philosophy, the new 5 Series is taking on
a pioneering role in its class in driver-oriented ergonomics. Yet, the
Controller and control Display is specially modified for the 5 Series -
as an example, this control system is featured for the first time
together with a gearshift lever in the middle. The new 5 Series is the
fourth generation of the BMW mid-sized family sedan, which has won many
awards and has been voted 'Best Car of the Year' for six years in a
row. Even though the current 5 Series, model year 2003, is in its
seventh and last year of its lifecycle, sales in the Middle East are
still going strong. "Now, is the best time for customers who
always wanted to buy a 5 Series, at the best value for money and the
highest level of options," said Robert Bailey-McEwan, Managing
Director of BMW Group Middle East. The new 5 Series is coming to the
Middle East markets in autumn 2003, other variants to follow are the
520i, the 525i the 545i with a V8 power unit displacing 4.4 litres and
developing 333 horsepower.