While many of you have expressed your dislike for the BMW 5-Series GT, we’re going to have to continue reporting on the latest BMW offering. However, today’s 5-Series GT news may be of interest to those looking to buy one when it hits markets next year.

What you see here in this video is the production version of the Concept 5-Series Gran Turismo seen at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. How do we know its’s production? Well, first you can see the front plates on this car (or PAS if you will) read “Progressive Activity Sedan” instead of “BMW Concept 5-Series Gran Truismo.” Second, you’ll also notice a different set of wheels and side-view mirrors (those which resemble a more production BMW). Last but not least, if you look at the interior, those are production seats instead of the two-tone seats you saw on the concept.

Check out the video of the 5-Series Project Manager, Herr Hans-Jurgen Branz, take us around the new 5-Series GT. Of Course, you’ll have to know German to understand the video.

Make the jump for the video.

BMW Concept 5-Series Gran Turismo:

BMW Concept 5-Series Gran Turismo:

- By: The Daily Auto Editor

Source: BMW Blog

The new BMW Concept 5-Series Gran Turismo is one of the last vehicles of Chris Bangle who recently resigned his position of design head at the Munich automaker. Nonetheless, the design is here to stay and BMW is displaying the new PAS (Progressive Activity Sedan) at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show.

BMW is known for offering concepts that are really close to their final production version – and the Concept 5-Series Gran Turismo is no exception. The production version will make its debut at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show in Sept. and will go on sale shortly after in early 2010.

The production version is expected to be offered with a choice of a 272-hp naturally aspirated engine and an updated 326-hp 3.0L twin-turbo 6-cylinder in the U.S.

Click through for the high-res image gallery.

2009 Geneva Motor Show: BMW Concept 5-Series Gran Turismo:

BMW Concept 5-Series Gran Turismo:

Everything about the new BMW Concept 5-Series Gran Turismo screams “don’t call me a minivan.” BMW’s usually weird acronym for this vehicle is PAS – which stands for Progressive Activity Sedan. We saw leaked images of the Concept 5-Series GT late last night, but BMW has now revealed all the details along with all the high-res press photos before the car’s Geneva Motor Show debut next month.

The Concept 5-Seires GT, you can say, is probably Chris Bangle’s (now former BMW design head) last legacy at BMW. “This is the most customer-centered car we’ve ever done,” Bangle said at the launch event for the concept. “We discovered a group of BMW buyers we were failing to reach out to at a sales level. We wanted to build a car to suit their everyday needs. There were no preconceived ideas. Everything you see is customer driven.”

Like other BMW concepts, the new Concept 5-Seires Gran Turismo will see very little change when it goes into production. According to Automotive News, the production version of the 5-Seires GT will make its debut at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show in September and will go on sale in the U.S. sometime in 2010.

Make the jump for more details and the high-res image gallery.

BMW Concept 5-Series Gran Turismo:

The exterior styling is credited to young BMW designer Christopher Weil (after all he did everything he could to not make it look like a minivan – we’re just kidding). Above the 5-Series Gran Turismo’s waistline (below the waistline is what you should expect to see in the next-generation 5-Series sedan), the coupe-like roofline mimics the X6. But the main exterior innovation is the hatch in the back that opens in two different modes. The first mode allows the owner to open a small rectangular hatch that gives access for easy loading. The second mode is your traditional tailgate lift that offers a large opening for large objects.

The inside of the Concept 5-Series Gran Turismo seems production-ready with the center dashboard that seems to be taken right out of the new X6 or X5. Like the X6, the 5-Series GT offers room for only four passengers as the center console stretches all the way back to the rear seats. Loading capacity comes in at 1,650 liters or almost 58 cubic feet with the rear seats folded down.

It is expected that early production 5-Series GT models will offer a choice between a 272-hp naturally aspirated engine and an updated 326-hp 3.0L twin-turbo 6-cylinder in the U.S. Europeans are expected to get a 286 twin-turbo 3.0L 6-cylinder common-rail diesel. Mated to a 6-speed automatic (8-speed automatic may become an option at the time of launch), the 5-Series GT will be initially offered with only rear-wheel-drive. xDrive all-wheel-drive system will be offered as option in the future.

Oh and please don’t expect any V10 ‘M’ versions of the 5-Series GT. It’s probably the first BMW we don’t want to see an ‘M’ version of (Hint to BMW: Mercedes-Benz’s R-Class AMG was a bad idea).

BMW Concept 5-Series Gran Turismo:

After ‘greenlighting’ what’s known as the Progressive Activity Sedan (PAS) or  a “5-Series GT,” BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer has now confirmed that BMW is committed to launching a smaller version of the car based on the facelifted 3-Series in 2010.

Like the 5-Series based PAS, the 3-Series crossover will also come with rear-wheel-drive with four-wheel-drive offered as an option. What’s the difference between the 3-Series PAS and the 3-Series station-wagon? The BMW 3-Series PAS will sit higher than the station-wagon and will offer the two-piece liftback like the X6 and the 5-Series based PAS.

Engine choices will be kept consistent with the 3-Series range to help streamline production and will be mated to a manual or optional dual-clutch manual gearboxes.

AutoCar says that BMW stopped working on the X7 earlier this year due to the collpase in SUV sales in the U.S. Instead, BMW will now focus on smaller crossovers. We’re just wondering where all these smaller crossovers will fit next to the X1, X3 and the 5-Series and 3-Series station wagons.

Source: AutoCar

If you thought the BMW X6 was a huge risk by the popular luxury German automaker, wait until you see what else they have in the works. According to AutoCar, BMW is moving ahead with plans to produce what is known as the Progressive Activity Sedan (PAS) or a “5-Series GT.”

The BMW PAS, which insiders say is “modern grand tourer with a luxury cabin and interior flexibility,” will be priced somewhere between the BMW 5-Series sedan and wagon and the 7-Series. It will be pitched at drivers who want an SUV but are not looking for a full-scale sports-utility.

So is this just a smaller X6? Those who have already been up-close-and-personal with the PAS describe the car as a “tall 7-series hatchback than a low-rise X6,” reports AutoCar. Inside the car is said to offer rear leg-room that of a long-wheelbase 7-Series.

Engine lineup is not yet known but expect to find the 3.0L twin-turbo 6-cylinder as well as the 3.0L turbodiesel under the hood.

Source: AutoCar