Looking back, BMW has been building one of the world’s greatest and most popular mid-size luxury sedans since 1972, when the E12-generation model first launched bearing the “5-Series” name.
Technically speaking, the E12 was the replacement for the old New Class (Neue Klasse) models of the early 1960s, while its design took inspiration from Bertone’s 1970 BMW Garmisch 2002ti show car displayed at the Geneva Motor Show.
The E12 ended up being an extremely successful car, and visually, the second-generation E28 5-Series that came out in 1981 wasn’t all that different. In fact, the E12 and the E28 had the most “shark-like” front ends of any 5-Series model, a design trait that was put on hold in the late 80s once the E34 came out.
Even so, the 2nd-generation E28 was still an improved car compared to the E12, featuring revised headlights, thicker bumper surrounds and large rectangular taillights as opposed to its predecessor’s square ones. Other changes included the addition of a new automatic transmission as well as a six-cylinder diesel engine, available in both turbo and naturally-aspirated forms.
Still, there’s plenty more to be known about these two classic sedans, which is why BMW put together these two videos.