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11/2009
Page 59
Chief Designer Claus Luthe combined sporting elegance and flowing lines
with a distinctive wedge shape. This stylish character was then carried over by
the designers to the first BMW 5 Series Touring, this unique five-door revealed
at the 1992 Frankfurt Motor Show offering a brand-new look and brand-new
features behind the B-pillar.
With sound insulation being given particular significance, the level of sound
within the body was virtually the same as in the sedan even though the
generous space inside obviously formed an ideal resonance body for acoustic
effect and disturbance.
The BMW 5 Series Touring was fitted from the start with self-levelling on
the rear axle.
The Touring model was available with nearly all the engines also offered
on the sedan, and as an option also came with all-wheel drive. A BMW M5
Touring joined the range in 1992, successful sales of this five-door clearly
confirming BMW’s concept to combine additional practical value with
attractive design: Overall sales of the BMW 5 Series Touring up to 1996
amounted to approximately 125,000 units, and total sales of the third-
generation BMW 5 Series were more than 1.3 million units the world over.
1995: the fourth generation –
for the first time with light-alloy suspension.
The fourth generation of the BMW 5 Series made its debut at the 1995
Frankfurt Motor Show, offering an evolutionary development through its
design of the former model with its sporting and elegant style. A particular
feature at the front was the dual round headlights behind a glass cover,
with the light rings for the positioning and daytime driving lights so typical
of BMW being added in the year 2000.
Both the sedan and the Touring introduced in 1997 once again offered
even more space within the passenger compartment. Boasting features
such as a multifunction steering wheel, a navigation system, active seats
and Dynamic Stability Control, the BMW 5 Series was acknowledged as
a particularly outstanding high-tech representative of its segment.
In the interest of enhanced driving dynamics and safety, the body came
with a significant increase in torsional stiffness over the former model,
and the fourth-generation BMW 5 Series was the first large-scale production
car worldwide made almost completely of light alloy. The newly developed
all-aluminium power units also helped to significantly reduce the weight of
the car.