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“G68” is one of the lesser-known BMW internal codenames since it belongs to a car sold exclusively in China. It’s the long-wheelbase 5 Series Sedan that entered production at the beginning of the year. The stretched luxury sedan is hitting dealers in the People’s Republic, and this 530 Li has one feature that was previously reserved for the 7 Series. Yes, it’s the optional 31.3-inch Theatre Screen serving as the all-in-one entertainment solution for rear passengers.
There’s more to China’s elongated 5er than that massive 8K-resolution display since the car also gets model-specific rear seats for even greater comfort. BMW sells the 5 Series Li with standard four-zone automatic climate control and covers the seats with different upholstery that has quilting and a two-tone look not found on the globally available “G60” model. In addition, there’s a “5” logo embossed into the headrests, which come with neck pillows.
Manufactured at the Dadong plant in Shenyang, the extra-long 5 Series is shown here with the optional Bowers & Wilkins sound system in a predominantly blue cabin. It has a spacious interior after stretching the wheelbase to a gargantuan 3105 mm (122.2 in). China’s 5er is a whopping 5175 mm (203.7 in) long, which means it’s positioned between the “G11” and “G12” 7 Series, BMW’s previous-generation flagship.
The walkaround video shows a version equipped with a combustion engine but Chinese customers can also get the car as a fully electric i5. Since the 5 Series was launched locally in 2006, more than two million units have been sold. Nearly half of them have been the recently discontinued long-wheelbase “G38” model with 950,000 units – making it the best-selling 5 Series model from the previous generation. Although it was sold only in China, the “G38” outsold the globally available standard-wheelbase “G30″ sedan by about 130,000 cars.
BMW also builds and sells an extra-long 3 Series Sedan in China – the only country where the electric i3 Sedan is available. Other regional models include the X1 Li/ iX1 Li and the X5 Li SUVs, with the company already planning China-exclusive EVs on the forthcoming Neue Klasse platform.
Source: AutoWorld / YouTube
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