BMW PAS

One look at the BMW PAS in these photographs and you’d be forgiven for thinking the acronym stands for Pretty Awkward Saloon!

But it’s actually the Progressive Activity Sedan – BMW’s latest niche filler, based on 5-Series Touring underpinnings and due to hit showrooms in 2009.

This is the future of the MPV, Bavarian style. So, out goes the tall, boxy profile usually associated with the humble MPV and in comes this unique estate-meets-coupe look, set to break the mould in the same way the X6 SUV did when it was unveiled in 2007.

The fastback PAS will seat four adults in comfort, boast plenty of luggage space, and feature a clever twin-hinged tailgate which will allow either the whole rear hatch to be opened or just the lower boot lip – the same system found on the latest Skoda Superb.

Yet despite high levels of practicality, thanks in part to a higher roofline than the 5-Series, BMW is determined to make the PAS an enjoyable driving machine. Plenty of time in the wind tunnel has honed a shape with a drag coefficient of only 0.31 – the same as the current M3 coupe – and engineers are working hard to ensure that dynamically the PAS disguises its bulky 1900kg kerb weight.

This weight issue, and BMW’s desire to position the PAS somewhere between the 5 and 7-Series in its model hierarchy, means only the bigger engines in the Bavarian stable will power the crossover.

A pair of 3.0-litre turbodiesel engines with 245bhp or 300bhp will be available – the latter generating a monumental 600Nm of torque – and petrol power will come via a 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo and a 4.0-litre turbo V8, generating 306bhp and 408bhp respectively. All cars will be rear-wheel drive.

We’ll bring you more on BMW’s startling new people carrier shortly, so keep coming back to Auto Express online for all the details.