What happens when a tired and neglected BMW 5 Series faces Mother Nature? As expected, nothing good. An F10 BMW 5 Series parked right on the edge of Lake Erie in New York has quickly become the “coolest” BMW we’ve seen in a long time: you might even call it frozen. We would, because a look inside reveals an interior that’s more reminiscent of an ice cave than the luxury the car offered over a decade ago.
The abandoned BMW – which was reportedly stolen from nearby Buffalo, NY – now exhibits, as we can only imagine, the automotive equivalent of hypothermia. According to local news, the car appeared Monday in the parking lot of a restaurant overlooking Lake Erie. Unfortunately for the 5 Series, there are strong winds in the area and temperatures are well below freezing. What was perhaps even more unfortunate was that the former pilot had rolled down the windows. By allowing the elements full access to the car’s interior, it was a unique way to see how wind and freezing temperatures can really wreak havoc on a car’s interior.
This is what the hypothermia of the F10 5 Series looks like
The video, courtesy of the same local news station WKBW, is at the end of the story and you can see the extent of the damage for yourself. The windows are down and the car also appears to have at least one flat tire. Ice formations more similar to stalactites than icicles formed along the roof lining and window openings. You can also see ice and snow accumulating in the back seats. Externally the car has hardly improved; Massive layers of ice cover the front fender and mirror.
Judging by the video, this BMW 5 Series appears to be a fairly well-equipped model; The leather interior almost looks like the fairly rare Cinnamon Brown upholstery. This makes for an interesting complement to the blue exterior color. It’s possibly deep sea blue metallic. Of course, it would probably look better if it wasn’t literally covered in pounds of ice and snow. These 18-inch wheels were available on everything from the base car to the 535i if I remember correctly. Interestingly, the snow and ice accumulation on the Style 237 wheels almost obscures the view from some angles. The xDrive badge indicates that this poor car was reasonably equipped to handle snowy weather. Just maybe not that extreme.
You can watch the shorter original video here. The video below contains more detailed coverage of the weather. And of course a few additional shots of the frozen 5 Series.
