We only published the first official photographs of the new 2010 BMW 5-series this week – and already a reader has papped one of Munich’s new execs in the UK.
Berkshire-based Phil Stickells was stuck in a jam on the A404 towards the M4 from the M40. (Overseas readers: a regular occurrence in the UK these days!).
‘It wasn’t in company with any support vehicles and was left-hand drive,’ said Phil. ‘Goodness only knows what it was doing there, maybe BMW are doing final shakedown tests for the UK market: low speed, wet weather testing perhaps?
‘The dash had a cloth over it to cover it up when the vehicle is parked up and the test driver looked distinctly bored with being stuck in the UK!’
One of Phil’s shots captures the new 5-series alongside an Audi A4, a handy reference point for judging the scale of the new, slightly bigger Five. Tellingly, the Berkshire location is near BMW’s Bracknell UK HQ.
‘The German big boys obviously do some testing in the UK,’ added Phil. ‘A few years ago I caught three disguised C-Class Mercs on Tottenham Court Road, but had no camera phone with me!’