After giving the 3 Series a Life Cycle Impulse and transitioning the 7 Series to the next generation this year, BMW wants to make sure the 5 Series won’t suffer from the middle child syndrome. Coming in 2023, the G60 has been spotted by car paparazzi undergoing testing near the Nürburgring in Germany. The license plate ending in “E” tells us we’re dealing with the purely electric model that will go by the “i5” moniker to slot between China’s i3 and the globally available i7.
The prototype appears to have the full production body and lights, but what caught our attention was the front grille. The size of the kidneys is not exaggerated compared to other recent designs, although it does look more imposing than before courtesy of thick vertical bars that meet in the middle for a unified appearance. The regular 5 Series with gasoline, diesel, and plug-in hybrid powertrains will be virtually the same since all models will share the CLAR platform.
Even from this angle, we can easily tell the eighth-generation 5er will transition to BMW’s latest iDrive since we can easily see the back of the two screens sticking out from the dashboard. The driver’s display likely measures 12.3 inches while the infotainment is a tad larger, at 14.9 inches. As seen in the 3 Series LCI and the all-new 7 Series, the touchscreen likely incorporates the climate controls to enable a simplified center console.
Other novelties compared to the outgoing model include the pop-out door handles for better aero and redesigned headlights that seem to have a slimmer shape. Traditionalists are happy to see the 2024 5 Series won’t have the split headlight configuration introduced this year on the 7 Series, X7 LCI, and the XM. BMW’s facelifts for the X5 and X6 coming in 2023 will also skip the unusual light arrangement.
While a full-fat M version is not happening, company insiders claim an i5 M60 xDrive is planned with the same dual-motor setup as the iX M60. A lesser i5 eDrive40 with rear-wheel drive is apparently on the agenda, as is a more practical i5 Touring. Speaking of wagons, BMW is believed to be working on another M5 Touring to have a 5 Series model for just about everyone.
Source: wilcoblok / Instagram | Rendering: TopElectricSUV
