BMW on Monday confirmed that a new M5 Touring is in the works, only the third after the E34 M5 Touring of the late 1980s/early '90s and E60 M5 Touring of the '00s.
The automaker also released the first photos of a camouflaged prototype that is set to start testing in public in the coming days. The debut is locked in for 2024. That's also when the new M5 sedan is likely to debut.
While the prototype may look similar to test vehicles for a planned wagon body style for the redesigned 2024 BMW 5-Series, signature M clues such as the pumped-up fenders, quad-exhaust tips, and large wheel and brake package confirm it as an M5 Touring.
BMW a year ago launched its first M3 Touring, and the boss of the BMW M performance division, Frank van Meel, in an interview that year teased an M5 Touring might join it eventually.
2024 BMW i5
The redesigned 5-Series sedan was revealed in May and starts sales later this year as a 2024 model. While its M5 sedan variant should reach the U.S., it isn't clear whether the same will be true for the M5 Touring. The M3 Touring has already been ruled off-limits for this market. Mercedes-Benz no longer offers an AMG E 63 wagon in the U.S., though Audi still offers its RS 6 Avant here.
BMW will go the hybrid route for its next M5, and the powertrain is likely to pair a turbocharged 4.4-liter V-8 with a single electric motor for a combined output of more than 700 hp. The same setup features in the 2023 XM SUV, and delivers 738 hp in the range-topping XM Label Red grade.
Performance fans with a penchant for electric power also have an option with the new 5-Series. BMW M has developed an i5 M60 xDrive grade, which BMW will offer in Touring wagon guise starting next spring (though likely not in the U.S.). The i5 M60 xDrive grade features a dual-motor all-wheel-drive powertrain generating a peak of 590 hp.
