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"BMW has made a habit of defining new segments, such as the X5 &amp;quot;Sports Activity Vehicle,&amp;quot; while also pushing the boundaries with their designs\u2014most notably the 7 Series back in 2002. At this year&amp;#039;s Geneva Motor Show an official at BMW said the new Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo will once again &amp;quot;open a new segment in the automobile market.&amp;quot;   After staring at the Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo, one might ask the question: &amp;quot;What the heck is that thing?&amp;quot; One journalist muttered: &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s like a sedan version of the X6,&amp;quot; while &amp;quot;5 Series hatchback&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;a competitor to Audi&amp;#039;s Sportback Concept&amp;quot; were also bandied about.   For BMW&amp;#039;s part, it says this concept is &amp;quot;the production-destined rendition of the Progressive Activity Sedan (PAS) development idea.&amp;quot; That means the concept car, and the future production car, aim to somehow combine sporty sedan styling with the flexible interior of an SUV with the dynamic abilities of a &amp;quot;classic Gran Turismo.&amp;quot;   BMW says sliding the two rear seats in this 4-seat concept to their rearward-most location (fore/aft adjustment of 3.9 in.) gives 7 Series-like leg room. And despite an obviously-sloping roofline, BMW says rear head room is equivalent to that of the X5; the rear seatbacks are adjustable electrically. Of note, the Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo&amp;#039;s length of 196.8 in. puts it as the second-longest BMW, to the 7 Series.   The Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;bi-modal trunk,&amp;quot; or two-piece tailgate, is either a very innovative feature...or just plain strange. The whole rear hatch can be opened in conventional 5-door fashion, or just the lower portion can be opened in a trunk-like vein similar to that of a sedan, although with a lower-than-typical loading sill. BMW says the benefit to opening the vehicle in the trunk mode (as opposed to the whole hatch) is that this keeps wind or other elements from entering the cabin. The trunk allows for 15.1 cu. ft. of cargo room (increasing to almost 20 cu. ft. if the rear seats are slid 3.9 in. forward), while folding down the rear seats gives a generous 58 cu. ft.   Where the production version of the Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo fits into BMW&amp;#039;s product plan remains to be seen \u2014 is it really all that different than an X5 or an X6? Is there much of a market for a 7 Series hatchback? Good questions, all. For now, we can definitely say this concept has some interesting and innovative elements. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-shows/geneva-auto-show/news/a14559/bmw-concept-5-series-gran-turismo/>