Purpose Of The System; Brief History - BMW E60 Manual

E60 Complete Vehicle

Purpose of the System

The E60 is the fifth edition of the BMW 5 Series replacing the E39. The automobile revo-
lution in design and engineering initiated by the E65/E66 now finds its logical continuation
in the E60. Virtually all the significant innovations of the 7 Series are also offered in the 5
Series.
However the E60 also offers new features of its own, some of which will make their appear-
ance in other model series in due time. The most important of these new features are:
• Active steering system, whose variable reduction ratio adapts itself to the relevant driving
situation.
• Lightweight design with a front-end structure of bonded and riveted aluminum (GRAV).
• Head-up display, which projects the most important information such as vehicle speed
or navigation arrows in the form of a virtual image directly into the driver's field of vision.
• Adaptive directional headlight system, which adapts itself continuously to the steering
angle and thus illuminates the approaching bend.
BMW 5 Series - Brief History
Th h e e E E 1 1 2 2 T
The first BMW to be christened the "5 Series" was the E12.
In 1972 this model in the form of the "520" began the system
of model designation which has remained to this day: The
first number stands for the model series, while the second
and third numbers represent the cubic capacity.
A total of 702,242 E12s from the 518 to the 535i were pro-
duced in Dingolfing and Munich until 1985.
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E60 Complete Vehicle