BMW hasn’t even revealed the regular Touring wagon versions of the new 5 Series and its electric i5 variant yet, but just before Christmas the company released new teasers of the high-performance M5 Touring. Not only will this be just the third time the M5 has been offered as a wagon after the E34 and E60 generations, it also could become the first fast BMW wagon to be sold in America.
The teasers came both on Instagram and YouTube, with the latter being a silly video showing a guy in a Santa costume reading a letter titled “The M List” and entering a garage where the M5 Touring is parked next to a tree. Despite being covered in a Christmas-themed camouflage wrap, we’re able to see a lot of details of BMW’s hottest wagon yet.
The front end does without the tall kidney grilles of cars like the M4 and 7 Series, instead getting kidneys the same shape as the normal 5 Series just with larger openings for cooling and horizontal grille strakes. The front bumper has a huge angular central intake, similar to that of the updated X5 M, with triangular intakes at the corners.
It looks like the M5 will have wider fender flares that will house big wheels and brakes, though in a departure from modern M5 tradition it doesn’t look like the front fenders will have any sort of air vent. There’s a spoiler at the top of the tailgate, and the aggressive rear bumper has four huge exhaust tips. The roofline of the new G60-generation 5 Series has been controversial for some, but the wagon’s tapering roof, raked rear glass and rising beltline look pretty damn good to me.
Powering the new M5 will be some sort of hybrid system — BMW says the powertrain is “completely newly developed,” but it’s likely an evolution of the plug-in-hybrid setup used in the flagship XM SUV. Expect a twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 engine paired with an electric motor for a total output of more than 700 horsepower, plus a few dozen miles of electric range.
BMW has previously said that the standard 5 Series and i5 Tourings will debut in Spring 2024, but all that we know about the M5’s debut is that it will occur sometime in 2024. While we won’t get the 5 Series and i5 wagons in the U.S., reports have pointed to the M5 Touring being offered in America. That means, for the first time in history, all three major German brands could sell a fast wagon in the U.S. at the same time, as Audi gears up the RS6 for a facelift and Mercedes is just months away from revealing AMG versions of its next-gen E-Class wagon. It’s a Christmas miracle!
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