Radical new BMW concept revealed

The most controversial BMW of recent times has undoubtedly been the X6. BMW calls it a 'Sports Activity Vehicle' - or SAV for short - and in concept it mixes SUV ruggedness with a sports coupé's looks and on-road behaviour. Now BMW's designers have gone one further, by purporting to mix luxury saloon, estate car, coupé and SUV in one vehicle.

BMW calls the new market segment 'Progressive Activity Sedan' and its first offering in this niche is the Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo. The use of the 5 Series name in the title offers us some assistance as we try to work out how to categorise the new show car, yet a glance at its dimensions indicates that it sits between the current 5 Series and the new 7 Series in size and is still significantly lower than the X5 and X6.

Really, the GT can be considered to be an amalgamation of 5 Series Touring and 7 Series, with a little X6 thrown in for good measure. The cockpit seats just four occupants, though sliding rear pews allow passengers the same amount of legroom as found in the 7 Series saloon. Alternatively, the seats may be slid forward or even folded out of the way to accommodate up to 1,650-litres of luggage - that's the same figure the 5 Series Touring swallows in its much more upright rear end.

The luggage space is accessed via a hatchback, though BMW's engineers have designed a mechanism that allows the lower portion of the hatch to open independently.

BMW will give the new concept its world debut at next month's Geneva Show and it's a cert for production too, albeit in low numbers. The GT will not replace either the 5 Series saloon or the Touring models, but it will sit above them in the range.

Shane O' Donoghue