The new 5 Series tried on a different face during an early design phase, according to BMW Group Design Director Adrian van Hooydonk. That didn’t work, since BMW’s strategy is to differentiate the 5 from the 7 Series, all while keeping it their most elegant and familiar car in the process, regardless of which powertrain you choose.
I’d call it rather rare to have a roundtable press talk at Como first with BMW Group Head of Design Adrian van Hooydonk, and then BMW Head of Design Domagoj Dukec. Similar questions, different takes, and now, a new, fully electrified 5 Series for all to discuss. The eighth-generation German sports sedan that can still be powered by a diesel engine, pure gasoline, mild- or plug-in hybrid systems, and for the first time ever, even batteries only. However, the i5 looks more or less the same as the combustion 5 Series, which many should find refreshing.
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Turning higher cars into electric drive is easy, because the proportions aren’t challenged by the batteries in the floor. Traditional three-box designs suffer more, and the new 5 Series is 1.4 inches taller than the previous generation. That led to a raised black sill, a visual aid stretching the side view towards the preferred ratios.
“We are particularly happy with how it turned out proportion-wise.” starts von Hooydonk. “A long, elegant, sporty sedan. And that, for me, is the essence of any BMW, anyway.”
Every BMW is tailored towards specific customer groups, and those who buy a 5 Series tend to be on the conservative side, with high expectations for the improved usual.
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“The 5 Series of course is the core of the brand in many-many markets. It is a car for customers that like to drive longer distances, and drive a little bit faster. So it’s for people who know very well what BMW is all about. We managed to electrify the car within that silhouette, within that proportion.” argues the Group’s main design chief since 2009.
The G60 rolls on bigger diameter wheels, with up to 21-inch alloys as an option. Domagoj Dukec, BMW’s Head of Design points out their priorities with this generation of the mid-size sedan:
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“I think what is really important with the 5 Series is that we wanted to create the most elegant BMW. It’s not because it’s a reaction to people blaming us for XM or 7 Series. It’s just because I’ve always said when I was asked about why the kidneys are so big, why this or that is. I said: look, these are particular models. They have expressive customers, they have status-oriented customers. So wait until you see the 3 Series and 5 Series cars, with which people are looking for other things.”
The 7 Series is important, because BMW’s design team tried the vertical kidney grille on the 5 Series as well, only to then decide against it. Adrian van Hooydonk stands by their choice:
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“I feel that when you make the grille a little bit more horizontal, it tends to look sportier. If you go more vertical, of course it adds presence, or status, if you will. So that was the reason why we felt that for the 5, it should be horizontal. We tried vertical also in the design phase, but even if you then do different headlamps, it begins to sneak up on the 7. Very quickly. So, we discussed it with some people and then said: no, let’s keep them further apart. It was a very deliberate decision to go that way, and not follow the 7.”
Adrian van Hooydonk also says that when you simply scale the same design up or down depending on your needs in the name of a common brand identity, at the end of the day, you’re not giving customers much of a choice.
Domagoj Dukec seems to know who buys a 5 Series. The company had five decades to narrow this down since 1973.
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“They don’t want to show off,” he says. “They want a car that of course expresses their achievements and so, but in a different way. A car to which neighbors say ‘oh, nice!’, but not thinking ‘whooaaa, he/she has really achieved it’. We achieved that the car looks almost more Italian than the BMWs before, which fits, because we have so much history with Italian design with not only the Neue Klasse, but also the first 5 Series.”
While Adrian van Hooydonk is proud of the silhouette and the proportions, Domagoj Dukec tells it like it is.
“This car has a really, really nice side view. The only thing is that you sit higher. That’s not so easy to handle, because you want to sit in the car, and not on the car. That’s the biggest challenge not just for us designers, but also the engineers.”
With up to 590 horsepower and up to 605 lb-ft of torque in the i5 M60 xDrive, you better sit in the car rather than on it. There are low cars and more and more high cars out there these days. The 5 has to remain in the former group, keeping the horizontal grille, for now.
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Keyword: BMW Almost Gave the New 5 Series the Same Big-Mouthed Face as the 7 Series