The next-generation BMW 5 Series Touring has been spotted testing for the first time ahead of its planned arrival towards the middle of 2017.
Set to go on sale around three months after the 5 Series saloon arrives in dealerships earlier in the year, the Touring will rival the likes of the Audi A6 Avant, Jaguar XF Sportbrake and the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class estate - which is due to be revealed next year.
Read more - 2017 BMW 5 Series saloon spotted testing
As with the saloon, this Touring test mule shows off an evolution of the current car's design language, characterised by its thinner, wider kidney grille design. Styling inspiration has come from the new 7 Series, while influences from 2014's Gran Lusso Coupé concept should also be adopted. At the rear, the Touring features a sloping boot with new rear light clusters.
As is traditional, BMW is expected to improve on the load space offered by the current 5 Series Touring, which offers 560 litres of space with the rear seats in place, rising to 1670 litres with them folded away.
Engines for the Touring will be shared with the 5 Series saloon, and will include a core range of four and six-cylinder powertrains from launch. A family of common 2.0-litre and 3.0-litre petrol and diesel units will feature, as well as a successor to the current tri-turbo 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel. That engine is a new quad-turbocharged six-cylinder unit destined for use in the firm's high-end models, and is said to develop well over 400bhp and 590lb ft.
A newly-developed V8 engine will also be offered in some markets, though it's currently unknown whether that engine will be offered in the UK.
Also available will be a BMW 5 Series Touring Hybrid model, pairing a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor, to produce a combined output of 242bhp and 295lb ft. That setup has already been driven by Autocar in the 3 Series eDrive.
Later in the car's life cycle, BMW could also give the Touring its new 1.5-litre petrol and diesel turbocharged three-cylinder engines - helping the German manufacturer to counter increasingly strict European emissions legislation. Both petrol and diesel versions of the three-cylinder engines are being tested in combination with electric motors.
Gearbox options will include a six-speed manual and nince-speed automatic transmission.
The seventh-generation BMW 5 Series is based on a sophisticated new platform known internally as OKL (meaning Oberklasse, or 'luxury class'). Various iterations of the new platform will be seen in future generations of the X5, X6 and also the upcoming X7.
Like the saloon, BMW will be looking to drop the kerb weight of the 5 Series Touring below the 2370kg of today's entry-level 518d SE Touring.
While the 5 Series saloon range will be crowned by the 600bhp M5, which gets a further developed version of the 4.4-litre V8 motor used by today's car, there are currently no plans to produce a touring version of the M5.
Read more:
2017 BMW 5 Series saloon - everything you need to know
2017 BMW M5 spotted for the first time
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