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.February 18, 2004
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This Week:

• BMW World and European Debuts at the Geneva Motor Show

• The new Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class: Celebrating its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show

• World Premier of the the Alfa 156 Crosswagon at the Geneva auto show

• Open Air - the New MINI Convertible Making its world debut in Geneva

• Cinema for those on the move: New DVD system for Passat and Sharan

• smart fortwo coupé and cabrio models to be sold in Canada beginning in 2004

• World Premier of the 'Fiat Trepiłno' Concept Car at the Geneva auto show

• Assembly Of The Opel Astra Classic To Start In The Ukraine

• World Premier of the Lancia Musa at the Geneva auto show

• GM Appoints New GMAC President

   

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BMW World and European Debuts at the Geneva Motor Show

 

BMW 530touring Munich/Geneva - Once again, BMW is presenting a cavalcade of outstanding highlights in technology and design at the Geneva Motor Show. One of the stars of the event is the new BMW 5 Series Sports Wagon now being shown to the world public for the first time. BMW's leadership in diesel engine technology, in turn, is borne out by innovative multi-stage diesel turbocharging in the BMW 535d. Another highlight is the BMW 525d Sedan being presented for the first time. Geneva will also mark the first European presentation of the 6 Series Convertible again setting the benchmark in the supreme segment of four-seater high-end convertibles. And last but certainly not least, the new BMW X3 underlines the outstanding position of the brand in the Sports Activity segment, the X3 2.5i coming in the foreground in Geneva naturally featuring BMW's intelligent xDrive all-wheel-drive technology able to distribute drive forces infinitely and fully variably between the front and rear axle.

The BMW 5 Series Sports Wagon: Perfect Synthesis of Dynamic Performance, Elegant Refinement and Extra Space.

The new 5 Series Sports Wagon adds yet another feature typical of BMW - flexibility - to the outstanding attributes of sporting performance, supremacy, and elegance already boasted by the new 5 Series Sedan.

The reason, quite simply, is that the new five-door model offers BMW's proverbial flexibility in everyday use in addition to the outstanding dynamics of its four-door Sedan counterpart. With its luggage compartment variable in size from 500-1650 liters the Sports Wagon caters for virtually all transport requirements.

Unique design:

Photos: BMW

It almost goes without saying that the new 5 Series Sports Wagon wraps this generosity in space and freedom into the most elegant and stylish body: With its own unique line, the Sports Wagon takes up the dynamic design elements of its Sedan counterpart, featuring the same striking front end all the way back to the B-pillars. From there the smooth transition to the D-pillars is fully integrated into the organic design of the car, not in any way creating the impression of a rear section simply grafted on. On the contrary - the Sports Wagon with its rear spoiler optically extending the roofline is almost reminiscent of a coupe, the rear view with split tail lights clearly revealing the unusual width of the car and consciously interpreting styling features of the sedan.

Making its debut with a choice of no less than four engines

The new BMW 5 Series Sports Wagon is entering the market with four model variants: two diesels - the 525d and 530d - and two petrol models - the 525i and 545i. A new addition to the range is the 2.5-liter diesel, a straight-six featuring the latest common rail technology, four valves per cylinder and a VNT turbocharger developing maximum output of 130 kW (177 bhp) and maximum torque of 400 Newton-metres or 295 lb-ft.

Acceleration to 100 km/h in 8.3 (automatic transmission model: 8.5) seconds and a top speed of 225 (222) km/h (140/138 mph) clearly prove the dynamic performance the 525d Sports Wagon is able to offer on the road. But at the same time this new version of the Sports Wagon is not only sporting and dynamic, but also very fuel efficient, with overall fuel consumption in the combined EU cycle of just 7.0 (8.0) liters/100 kilometres (40.4/35.3 mpg Imp).

The power diesel Sports Wagon

The power diesel in the BMW 530d reveals even more muscle when accelerating and really using the engine's performance: The three-liter six-cylinder develops maximum output of 160 kW (218 bhp) and generates maximum torque of 500 Newton-metres or 369 lb-ft at just 2,000 rpm. Acceleration to 100 km/h in 7.2 (7.4) seconds and a top speed of 242 (240) km/h (150/149 mph) form an impressive contrast to average fuel consumption of just 7.2 (8.0) liters on 100 kilometres (39.2/35.3 mpg Imp).

Right from the start in spring 2004 both the 2.5- and 3.0-liter diesel engine, benefitting from an all-new particle filter, fulfil the EU4 emission standards not coming into force until 2005. In the guise of its 545i top-of-the-range model, the 245 kW (333 bhp) high-tech 8-cylinder power unit gives the "transporter" within the 5 Series all the performance and muscle of a genuine sports car. Indeed, the customer even has the option of choosing BMW's highly efficient SMG sequential gearbox for the 545i Sports Wagon, shifting gears like in Formula 1.

The 2.5-liter petrol-engined model in the 525i represents the refined midfielder within BMW's six-cylinder Sports Wagon range: Maximum output of 142 kW/192 bhp, plus maximum torque of 245 Newton-metres (181 lb-ft) accelerate the 525i Sports Wagon to 100 km/h in just 8.2 (8.8) seconds. Top speed, in turn, is 232 (229) km/h or 144 (142) mph. Despite this outstanding performance, however, the six-cylinder petrol model requires just 9.9 (10.3) liters of premium fuel/100 kilometres in the combined EU cycle, equal to 28.5 (27.4) mpg Imp. So this refined model offers all the qualities typical of the BMW brand with outstanding dynamism, performance, smoothness and all-round economy, providing a perfect balance of harmony in the process.

Same assistance systems as in the sporting Sedan version

It almost goes without saying that all models in the Sports Wagon range come with the same innovations and technical highlights as the 5 Series Sedan.

Particular features deserving special mention in this context are the Active Steering providing exactly the right steering transmission at all times as a function of road speed, the active Dynamic Drive chassis and suspension system, as well as the Head-Up Display presenting important information to the driver directly in his line of vision. Added to this, there are further features typical of the Sports Wagon such as remote control operation of the rear lid or self-levelling featured as standard.

(Feb 17, 2004)