Codenamed F07, the original 5 Series Gran Turismo came out of nowhere as few were expecting BMW to launch a taller 5 Series with an intricate rear that had both a trunk lid and a tailgate. As a refresher, the GT was an alternative to the traditional Touring while offering 7 Series levels of rear legroom courtesy of a massive wheelbase. It was ultimately a niche model, much like the smaller 3 Series GT that followed it.

The owner of a 5 Series GT from the original 2009 year modified his 535i by fitting a quad exhaust from Eisenmann to make the 3.0-liter “N55” sound noticeably better. The turbocharged inline-six was recently put on a dyno where it pushed out a nice round figure of 300 horsepower. It’s a rear-wheel-drive example as xDrive was added as an option the following year. It has withstood the test of time since it remains in great condition despite having been built nearly 15 years ago.

 

The F07 rarely gets attention from YouTubers, and seeing one that has been (slightly) modified almost never happens. It has done about 171,000 kilometers (106,200 miles) and can effortlessly reach speeds of 240 km/h (149 mph) on an unrestricted section of the Autobahn. In the acceleration test, it did 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 6.4 seconds, which isn’t too shabby for such a large and heavy vehicle that isn’t an M Performance or an M model.

BMW still sells this car in some parts of the world as the 6 Series Gran Turismo (G32) but its days are likely numbered. With a new 5 Series debuting later this year, it’s hard to believe the oddball liftback will live to see another generation, especially with more and more investments being made in EVs. The 3 Series GT was discontinued in 2020 without getting a replacement, and chances are its bigger brother will follow suit.

These GT-badged models have been an unusual experiment by BMW, but with crossovers and SUVs being all the rage, they were doomed to fail from the start. Let’s just be thankful the Munich-based automaker still has wagon versions of the 3 Series and 5 Series. The former recently received the M3 treatment and the latter will do the same (for the third time ever) around 2025.

Source: AutoTopNL / YouTube