
The GTA Advance rendition does not appear to have a clear source of inspiration for its design, but retains its slender 4-door sedan.
In GTA San Andreas, the Sentinel is based heavily on the the GTA Vice City rendition, but was modernized and appears more similar to a 1986–1994 BMW 7 Series. It was modified further to feature more forward-tilted headlights and grill, and smaller rear light clusters, akin to a 1976–1989 BMW 6 Series these changes distinguish the car further from GTA Vice City Stories's rendition of its high performance counterpart, the Sentinel XS, which had not received the same degree of changes. In GTA Vice City Stories, it is actually the beta version of the car from GTA Vice City, and is based on a 1977–1986 BMW 7 Series sedan. There also appears to be resemblances of the Citroën Xantia (1993–2001), particularly the bumpers. In GTA Vice City, it is based on a 1981–1988 BMW 5 Series sedan (most likely a 525i/528i, based on the power and size). In GTA III and GTA Liberty City Stories, it resembles a 1991–1998 BMW 3 Series sedan (most likely a 325i/328i, based on the power and size). Throughout its early appearances, the the Sentinel assumes several designs, all based on various BMW models: