The controversial 5 Series Gran Turismo has quietly slipped out of BMW South Africa's official price list.

At first glance, that might make sense, since the new (G30) 5 Series sedan arrived in local showrooms as recently as the end of February.

But rumour has it that the slow-selling BMW 5 Series GT won't be making a comeback. Well, not bearing the same badge, anyway.

Various reports suggest that the 5 Series GT will soon be replaced by a successor badged as the 6 Series GT, and positioned even higher in the luxury automaker's range. In fact, spy shots from late last year confirmed that this new model – which will likely run on the same OKL platform as both the 5 and 7 Series – is well into the development and testing phase.

We approached BMW SA for comment on the sudden disappearance of the four-variant 5 Series GT range, and received the following answer.

"As you know, the new BMW 5 Series Touring has just been introduced in main markets (such as Germany, the UK, Italy, Sweden, Belgium and Japan), and will be followed by the successor to the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo," the local arm of the Munich automaker told CARmag.co.za.

"We cannot provide details about future model variants at this point," the brand added.

Original article from Car