BMW has been spied repeatedly testing prototypes of the eighth-generation 5 Series ahead of the luxury sedan’s confirmed 2023 reveal. The Mercedes E-Class rival will come along with a fully electric i5 to go up against the EQE and an inevitable rival from Audi. The British folks over at Carwow known for their varied drag races have used their crystal ball to see into the future of the i5 and its design.
Since the 5 Series and i5 will share the same CLAR platform, the two models are going to look virtually the same. BMW will be applying the same strategy we’ve already seen on the bigger 7 Series / i7 as well as the new X1 / iX1. The unofficial rendering shows the zero-emissions sedan in all sorts of bright colors, but one must wonder about how accurate the rendering is.
Prototypes spotted so far have been wearing thick camouflage, thus making it quite difficult to figure out what was hiding beneath all that makeup. The general vibe we’ve been getting from the work-in-progress cars was of a sharper sedan. It remains to be seen whether the headlights will be this large what with advancements made in LED tech allowing engineers to slim down the clusters. Carwow decided to give the i5 the daytime running lights motif of the iX SUV. Compared to the prototypes photographed thus far, the headlights look unnatural in the adjacent rendering.
The G60 generation will come along with pop-out door handles for better airflow to unlock extra miles of range for the purely electric i5 by giving it a sleeker profile. From what we’ve heard, the zero-emissions sedan will be available in eDrive40, xDrive40, and M60 configurations, with a more practical i5 Touring – also rendered here by Carwow – to follow suit.
BMW is believed to start production of the 5 Series / i5 in July 2023, which if accurate, likely means the world premiere will take place in the first months of next year. As always, the M5 seen below will follow.
Source: Carwow / YouTube
