User:Big Stupid Jellyfish/sandbox

The BMW 5 Series (E60) is the fifth model generation of the BMW 5 Series, a line of executive/mid-size luxury cars by German automaker BMW. It was officially revealed at the 56th International Film Festival on 22 May 2003 as a successor to the E39 model, which ran production from 1995 to 2003. Initial sales of the BMW E60 began in Western Europe during July 2003, subsequent British and North American market releases were scheduled for September 2003.

The E60 was launched in a saloon/sedan body style and also became available in a "Touring" branded estate/wagon (codenamed E61) body style in 2004. A grand tourer derivate (codenamed BMW E63/E64), that revived the BMW 6 Series nameplate after a 14 year hiatus, was first introduced at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show. A factory-stretched long-wheelbase version for the Chinese market was put into production in 2006.

The E60 shared a high number of technical features from the full-size 7 Series including iDrive, a vehicle control interface that allows access to multiple car functions through a single device. All-wheel drive options that were previously available for the BMW E34, the third generation 5 Series, were reintroduced with this generation to the 5 Series in 2005.

In 2007, the E60 and E61 received a series of exterior and interior changes, direct injection technology for all engines and new driving assistance systems. In 2010, the BMW E60 was replaced by the F10, the sixth model generation of the 5 Series.

Design
The exterior design was penned by Davide Arcangeli under the leadership of chief designer Chris Bangle. It is characterised by its non-traditional styling that is marked by a high side profile, protracted headlights and an unusually high boot lid. BMW wanted to visually differentiate their product from their competition by not becoming "mediocre", according to the then head of BMW's public relations department Thomas Gubitz. Chris Bangle defended the design by stating it would be appreciated over time by claiming that "humans need time to get used to newness."

The interior design takes cues from the 7 Series and is centered around a wavy design theme that is applied to the entire dashboard, going away from the angled cockpit design from previous models. The centre console includes a LCD display for the iDrive system.

Platform
A primary design goal of the E60 was increased interior space, which was achieved by an extended wheelbase and larger body. The frontal area of the E60 integrates a high number of aluminium parts to counteract weight penalties resulting from increased body dimensions and to enable a 50/50 weight distribution. The driveshaft, as well as the front subframe, bonnet and front fenders are made in aluminium. Galvanic corrosion that would result from two different metals being put into electrical contact is prevented by glueing and riveting the aluminium parts with the rest of the body.

The E60 dropped the recirculating ball-type steering from V8 models of the E39 series and is solely available with a rack and pinion power steering with electronic steering support, known as Servotronic, which improves feedback of the power steering. This option is only standard for certain models such as the estate/wagon model.

Equipment
The iDrive control interface has been reworked as a response to criticism regarding its first implementation in the 2001 7 Series; the iDrive system only has four menues instead of eight, and is complemented by an additional button that instantly switches back to the main menu. For models that are equipped with a navigation system, a third button is included that switches to the navigation menu.


 * Active Front Steering
 * Dynamic Drive
 * HUD
 * Run-flat tyres