Get An Early Look At The New BMW 5-Series Thanks To This Leak

In this highly connected, Internet driven age, it’s spectacularly difficult for manufacturers to keep new cars under wraps until they’re supposed to be revealed. The latest in a very long line of examples? BMW’s new ‘G30’ 5-series, not due to go on sale until well into next year, but appearing in these leaked images for the whole world to see.

We’re not sure where they appeared first - some are reported that it was a Chinese website called Auto Home, while others are suggesting it was Germancarforum.com. Either way, we now have our first proper look at the new 5-series, and as you can see, it looks very, very similar to the current 7-series, even going so far as to replicate the bigger car’s distinctive gills located behind the front wheels.

Not necessarily a bad thing given that the 7-series is a relatively handsome brute, but a little more distinction might have been nice - other than the different shaped grilles, a lower swage line and different shaped light clusters at the rear, there’s not a lot in it. Take a look at the comparison below and see what you think.

The new car will sit on BMW’s new ‘CLAR’ (or ‘cluster architecture) platform, and thanks to the use of carbonfibre and aluminium in its construction, it’s set to lose 100kg over its predecessor.

Under the bonnet, we can expect a range of 2.0-litre, 3.0-litre turbocharged engines in both petrol and diesel forms, and a nice, meaty 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 in a 550i.

There’ll be a hybrid option - probably using the 2.0-litre-based, part-leccy powertrain found in the 330e - but of more interest to us is the eventual M5. It’ll almost certainly be packing the same 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 as the current car, with a power output in excess of 600bhp, and - for the first time in an M5 - optional four-wheel drive, so you can put that power down without ruining your trousers.