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Photo: kelsonik / Instagram
The Bavarian automaker launched the Neue Klasse assault last autumn with the introduction of the NA5 second-generation BMW iX3 premium electric compact crossover SUV and then pushed the accelerator pedal this year with models like the NA0 second-gen BMW i3 sedan or the all-new BMW X5.
The company feels like they launch an onslaught, but it’s more nuanced, actually. So far, only the iX3 and i3 have the full Neue Klasse treatment – exterior and interior redesign plus the new 800-volt EV platform dedicated to zero-emission models. Meanwhile, the BMW 7 Series and i7 went through a dedicated mid-cycle refresh that keeps the current split-headlight design alive and well.
Only the interior got the Neue Klasse look and premiered a passenger screen for the BMW Panoramic Vision setup, while the internals were also the same as before. The BMW X5 and the first-ever iX5 might look like the most extreme vision of Neue Klasse so far, but they’re doing that only outside and inside while keeping the CLAR platform intact for the new generation to accommodate the gasoline, diesel, PHEV, BEV, and FCEV powertrain variations.
An abundance of additional models is also coming – and we know that because our spy photographer partners have caught them testing: the BMW i3 Touring, the new 3 Series, the M3 flagship, and also the refreshed BMW 5 Series executive series. Just recently, the Touring model for the latter was caught testing, so we know that its reveal is just around the corner.
As it turns out, the refreshed BMW 5 Series Touring has also caught the attention of the rumor mill, including the members of the imaginative guild of digital car content creators dwelling across the parallel universes of vehicular CGI. For example, Nikita Chuicko, the virtual artist better known as “kelsonik” on social media, thinks that now is the right CGI time to work on a BMW 5 Series Touring based on the latest intel gained from the spy photos.
The pixel master thus peels off the camouflage layers to reveal a potential interpretation of the BMW 5 Series Touring in their latest unofficial, hypothetical design project. As it turns out, BMW has ample variations of the Neue Klasse ethos, and these renderings keep most of the 5 Series Touring’s prior design intact.
So, only the front fascia gets changed along with the taillights: around the back there are slimmer LEDs and an updated bumper while at the front we see the aggressive bumper with large air intakes, plus the slimmer face with the LED fangs for DRLs and the LED-illuminated kidney grille connected to its respective headlight assembly on each side. So, what do you think of this tamer Neue Klasse interpretation – yay or nay?