BMW 5-Series GT gets a new name (and redesign): The 6-Series GT

Gran Turismo means different things to different people. And if you weren’t too keen on the 5-Series GT, BMW is hoping you’ll like it as the 6-Series GT. That’s right: BMWBlog reports that the 5-Series’ portly twin brother is getting a name change, along with an exterior redesign that will make it look a little more like a liftback coupe and a little less like a Toyota Venza.

The 5-Series GT has been around since 2009 — hard to believe given the modest number we’ve seen in traffic — and the model is due for a complete redesign rather than a refresh. As an added bonus, the 6-Series GT will now get confused with both the 6-Series Gran Coupe and the BMW X6.

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In gasoline form, buyers will be able to look forward to the 630i, 640i and the M650i xDrive, according to BMWBlog, though buyers in other markets will also have their pick of diesel models, including the 620d, 630d and M650d xDrive, which will be powered by the new quad-turbo diesel engine announced earlier this spring. The range-topping gasoline engine, meanwhile, will be the 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 found elsewhere in the BMW lineup, including in the new M550i xDrive. Hybrid powerplants have not been confirmed for 6-Series GT for now.

Whether the 5-Series GT will do better as a 6-Series remains to be seen, but some felt the model had a tenuous connection to the 5-Series range, which longtime BMW owners preferred to see as a sedan/wagon range. The real challenge, we suspect, will be staying clear of the BMW X6, which was already too close in packaging to the current 5-Series GT.

Look for the 6-Series GT in 2018 in front of that new restaurant downtown that just opened that everyone is talking about.

Jay Ramey

Jay Ramey grew up around very strange European cars, and instead of seeking out something reliable and comfortable for his own personal use he has been drawn to the more adventurous side of the dependability spectrum. Despite being followed around by French cars for the past decade, he has somehow been able to avoid Citroën ownership, judging them too commonplace, and is currently looking at cars from the former Czechoslovakia. Jay has been with Autoweek since 2013.