The latest prototypes of the 2011 BMW 5 Series have been caught on the streets of Germany, and like most of the test mules we’ve seen before, they indicate only minor design changes for BMW’s next midrange sedan.

Unlike the current BMW 5 Series that ushered in a whole new design philosophy, the next-generation (known internally as F10) will most likely soften the current model’s line instead of reinventing them once again. The overall size of this prototype doesn’t appear substantially different, so we don’t expect any major changes in terms of passenger room either.

There’s a good chance that the top-of-the-line versions of this 5 Series will use the same twin-turbo V8 introduced in the 2009 BMW X6. Some rumors also suggest that an eight-speed automatic transmission will be used.

Via Edmunds.com

Few models in the BMW lineup have as much tuning potential as the newly released 135i, and the Bavarian boys and girls are intent to capture as much of that market as possible. The BMW 1-series tii concept proved that BMW was serious about offering performance parts to boost (and possibly lighten) its new turbo’d coupe, and a member of 1addicts posted photos of what could be the first 135 to get the in-house tuner treatment.

Gallery from Autoblog

Based on the 5 series, this is the first video of BMW’s 2010V5. BMW’ calls it its Progressive Activity Vehicle, but many speculate that is BMW’s response to Mercedes R Class. The V5 will be one of those cars that will be really hard to classify under a specific class.

There are rumors floating around between car reuters that BMW may be considering dropping their iDrive system, which had got not the best reviews, to an Apple based system. There are not exact details of how the new system will look like. Speculators say that new system may resemble the one recently debuted by Lad Rover on their LRX concept, which the Iphone docked to the center console allowing the driver to fully integrate it with its vehicle.

Image of Land Rover LRX Concept center dock

Despite the body clouding, you can see that the new X3 will be more like a sports wagon than its predecessor.

MUNICH — The 2010 BMW V Series is still years away from its official launch, but spy photos continue to reveal more details about the future BMW model.

Based on the latest spy shots, the V Series is expected to ride on the BMW 7 Series platform. Its high roof line will provide an SUV-like interior, although it’s expected to seat only four or five passengers.

As close as this prototype appears to production, the finished design isn’t expected until roughly 2009, with an on-sale date as far off as early 2010.