The article
Bunch of 5s on the nose
By Georg Kacher
Sun-Herald
Monday April 8 2002
Inside the distinctive four-cylinder office tower on Munich's Petuelring that is BMW central, the debate is now white hot. A few kilometres away in the sleekly modern Research and Design centre, American Chris Bangle, BMW's chief of design, is guiding a crucial new car through its final phases.
The BMW 5 Series won't be seen until September next year, but crunch time is now. The company that made style its signature element can't decide on its next move.
The 5 Series is a highly profitable model. It can't afford to fail, but there is a lot of nervousness about the design direction.
The new car is said to be even more radical than the recently released 7 Series flagship, a design that polarised opinion from day one.
The success of the new 7 Series is determined mainly by its performance in the US and in Asia. The new 5 also needs to do well in Europe and, above all, in Germany.
This explains the unease within BMW's sales and marketing department. Incoming orders for the new flagship sedann send a clear message: German demand is poor; pan-European orders are not as good as expected; and North America and Asia are slightly above target.
The new 5 cannot afford such a lukewarm reception.
That's why the Bavarians would love to put an end to the design debate which drags on, and not only in Germany.
BMW is in a quandary. The current 3 Series was deemed not adventurous enough when it arrived, but has sold very well. Under Bangle's design direction, BMW then rolled out a series of radical concept cars. The X9 coupe, shown at the Detroit Motor Show last year, received a panning.
Then the 7 Series arrived - and critics labelled it too "out there" for its rich buyers.
Those who have seen project E60 (as the new 5 is codenamed) reckon many customers will take even longer to get used to the new midliner. Even BMW loyalists may be shaken by such nonconformist cues as the Chinese-eye front end and the Japanese-looking tail.
Although the fourth-generation 5, due to appear at the 2003 Frankfurt Show, can be instantly identified as a BMW, the design language will change dramatically.
There's a new interpretation of the trademark kidney grille, which assumes the shape of a symmetrically split vase. Quad round headlamps are installed at a cat's-eye angle. The characteristic BMW belt line gives way to a concave lateral groove.
Even the so-called Hofmeister kink, that unmistakable signature element at the foot of the rear side (C) pillar, has lost its crispness.
Clear and geometric cutlines divide the slab-sided flanks, but the standard 16-inch wheels look tiny on such a broad-shouldered and visually heavy car.
Early this year, top and middle management saw the car in BMW's penthouse viewing area.
The dark grey model looked almost black in the dim light, recalls a guest. It was easy to see the inoffensive silhouette, but more difficult to read the cutlines.
The main criticism was related to the tall and angular rear end, which one insider described as an oddball mix of 7 Series and Subaru Liberty styling elements. The front end is determined by the wraparound bonnet, boomerang-shaped eyebrow indicators, a sagging-cheeks air intake in the bumper and that swoosh in the front mudguards just ahead of the door openings.
There is no doubt about it: the new 5 looks different. But is it still a proper BMW? And how does this offbeat appearance comply with the classic BMW design genes once so homogeneous and coherent?
Inside, the E60 continues to break with tradition. In the past, BMW cockpits were driver-oriented and ornamentation-free. In the new 5, form threatens to dominate function.
An internal pamphlet says the instrument panel "combines tension and calm", but it apparently impresses more with up to six layers of colours and materials than with tangible ergonomic innovations.
The biggest step ahead is perhaps the second edition of the iDrive information controller, allegedly much easier to use than the 7 system.
The designers have cleaned up the countless menus and submenus to make access a lot slicker.
The iDrive controller looks different and a master switch gives instant access to key programs. The in-dash monitor is less prominent, better integrated and easier to read from the passenger side.
Beneath the skin, the new 5 is a downsized version of the new 7. Like its predecessor, E60 relies on a spring strut front axle and a multi-link rear axle, but the revised suspension elements are now made of aluminium, not steel.
Options include adjustable dampers and adjustable sway bars. Among the most important dimensional changes are a longer wheelbase, wider track, bigger wheels and brakes.
None of the present engines will remain unchanged in the new 5. The petrol-fed power plants will combine Valvetronic with direct-injection, but current displacements are rumoured not to change.
Mid-term, say by late 2005, BMW wants to establish the electronic valve train (EVT) across the board. EVT will revolutionise engine design by replacing camshafts with individually controlled electro-mechanical intake and exhaust valves.
The first BMW EVT engine is rumoured to be going into low-volume production next year. Also, late next year, the Bavarians are expected to show the new 5 wagon, due on the market in the northern spring of 2004. It's not clear if BMW will fit electro-hydraulic brakes (EHB) - or will be the first to go to electro-mechanical brakes (EMB) in late 2004.
What EMB needs is a separate high-tension electric system, which would also feed the starter-generator. Such a system is in the works for the E60, sources say.
In addition to brake-by-wire, BMW is also looking at steer-by-wire, but the active steering which would automatically maintain a chosen course in crosswinds or when lanes narrow is more likely to debut in the new 7 Series.
Whichever way BMW jumps with the new 5 Series, you can be assured you won't miss its arrival. As one insider put it, if you thought the 7 Series was controversial, you ain't seen nothing yet.
