Looking Back at the BMW E60 5-Series

In a New BMW Video, They Take a Look Back at the E60, a 5-Series for the New Millennium

In the above installment of BMW History, the venerable marque examines the E60 5-Series. It’s incredible to think that this car is now old enough to be looked at as historical. Where did the time go?

While its styling was controversial and divisive at the time, its easy to see how the E60 impacted its contemporaries and beyond. As always, BMW was at the forefront, setting trends that we still see today.

Not all of the E60’s styling features made their way into the general collective consciousness of automotive styling. The trunk bustle, or “Bangle Butt” in deference to designer Chris Bangle, remained largely unseen outside of that era BMW. (It also made an appearance on the E63 6-Series and E65 7-Series.)

From the side, the body line is reminiscent of the classic BMW 2002. It’s a subtle retro touch in an era where retro styling was becoming increasingly popular, cynical, and tacky.

CHECK OUT: What Forum Members Are Saying About This Soon-to-Be-Classic 5-Series

However, the large grilles and elongated headlights (albeit less dramatic than the E60’s feminine eyebrows) have made their way into the design language of every BMW since.

The E60 also bucked tradition again with a less driver-focused cockpit than previous BMWs. It allowed front seat passengers more accessibility and control for the new infotainment system. Whether they were selecting music or GPS destinations, it made it much easier for the co-pilot to help the driver remain focused on the important task ahead.

Naturally, the E60 was much more technologically advanced than its predecessors. That included active steering, adaptive headlights, a heads-up display, and iDrive. While controversial and difficult to use for some, it paved the way for modern infotainment systems that we take for granted today. And its wheel/cursor control surface is similar to what you find in many modern cars.

What do you think of the E60? Is it a classic in the making?

Cameron Vanderhorst

Cam VanDerHorst has been a contributor to Internet Brands' Auto Group sites for over three years, with his byline appearing on Ford Truck Enthusiasts, Corvette Forum, JK Forum, and Harley-Davidson Forums, among others. In that time, he's also contributed to Autoweek, The Drive, and Scale Auto Magazine.
He bought his first car at age 14 -- a 1978 Ford Mustang II -- and since then he’s amassed an impressive and diverse collection of cars, trucks, and motorcycles, including a 1996 Ford Mustang SVT Mystic Cobra (#683) and a classic air-cooled Porsche 911.
In addition to writing about cars and wrenching on them in his spare time, he enjoys playing music (drums and ukulele), building model cars, and tending to his chickens.
You can follow Cam, his cars, his bikes, and his chickens at @camvanderhorst on Instagram.
When he's not busy working on his Harley-Davidson bike, the vastly experienced writer has covered an array of features, reviews, how-tos, op-eds and news stories for Internet Brands' Auto Group and is also a co-founder and co-host of the popular podcast Cammed & Tubbed.

Check him out on Instagram at: Camvanderhorst.

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