BMW has been spotted testing a prototype for a new M5 Touring, only the third M5-based wagon in the history of the 5-Series.
The vehicle was confirmed by BMW in June and will be based on the platform of the redesigned 5-Series that debuted in May.
The new 5-Series starts sales late this year as a 2024 model, and its M5 variant is scheduled to arrive in 2024, in both sedan and wagon body styles. The M5 should arrive as a 2025 model.
Prototypes for the M5 sedan have been spotted for more than a year, but this is the first time the M5 Touring wagon has been spotted.
2025 BMW M5 spy shots - Photo credit: Baldauf
While the prototype may look similar to test vehicles for a planned wagon body style for the new 5-Series, signature M cues such as the pumped up fenders, quad-exhaust tips, and a large wheel and brake package confirm it as an M5 Touring.
A yellow warning sticker also confirms the prototype packs an electrified powertrain. The setup likely consists of a twin-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.
2025 BMW M5 Touring spy shots - Photo credit: Baldauf
Performance fans with a penchant for electric power also have an option with the new 5-Series. The electric i5 variant can be ordered in an i5 M60 xDrive grade packing a dual-motor all-wheel-drive setup good for 590 hp. The i5 M60 xDrive will also spawn a Touring wagon variant next year.
Dedicated M cars with electric powertrains are in the pipeline, though timing is uncertain. BMW last August said its M division was testing a four-motor electric powertrain, and there have been rumors the upcoming M5 at some point in its life cycle will offer the option of an electric powertrain.
2024 BMW i5
It isn't clear if any of the new 5-Series' wagon variants will be sold in the U.S. Buyers here tend to prefer high-riding SUVs, and as a result BMW's M3 Touring was never brought here. Mercedes-Benz also no longer offers an AMG E 63 wagon here, though Audi still offers its RS 6 Avant.
M5 Tourings have been sold in the U.S. in the past, though. The last was the E60-generation M5 Touring of the '00s.
