New 2027 BMW M5 spied – M division's getting ahead of the hybrid Audi RS6
The update for the BMW M5 will bring Neue Klasse stylistic sensibility and tech to BMW’s big, garish super saloon and estate
The G9X generation BMW M5 has only been on sale for just over a year but we’re already seeing prototypes of the facelift (or life cycle impulse in BMW speak). Both saloon and Touring variants of the high-performance heavyweight have been spotted up close, with this latest round of shots giving us our best look yet at how BMW’s performance flagship will wear the Neue Klasse styling language we’ve just seen expressed on the new i3 saloon.
We’ve known that the M5 is set for a Neue Klasse makeover since we first spied the car during cold weather testing this time last year. The car was wearing a much heavier disguise then, as it was when we later caught it testing at the Nürburgring.
Facelift models don’t usually feature wholesale changes to the bodywork, but BMW is planning to buck this trend with its 5-series and M5 overhaul. At the front the headlights and front grilles look very similar to those on the new i3, with horizontal kidney grilles featuring sharp integrated headlights. These will replace the slightly piggy, E60-reminiscent face of the current 5-series and M5.
That said, part of why the new i3 is so successful as a styling exercise is because this is the car the Neue Klasse language was originally designed for. The i3 is all-new, bespoke and so the styling and proportions are cohesive. We’re still not sure whether the same will be the case for the much bigger, bulkier M5.
What else can we actually see? Extensive air intakes remain in the lower section of the bumper and there are camouflage panels hiding what we assume are revisions to the tops of the front wings and the central bonnet area. The latest images show the lower area of the front bumper in greater detail, with reprofiled vents and mountings for the ADAS hardware. It looks like the new M5 will get a bit more of a jutting chin spoiler too.
What wasn’t too visible in previous spy images was the rear of the car. Not so on the car captured lapping the Nürburgring. Here there will not be quite such a dramatic change, as at the front. There still appear to be slender, horizontal rear light units with broadly the same shape as the current car’s. The latest imagery of the M5 Touring during its cold weather testing gives us our first look at the actual light graphics within the unit – crisp and retaining a version of BMW’s signature rear lighting ‘L’ shape.
New BMW M5 powertrain
The current powertrain which features a twin-turbocharged V8 and an electric motor will remain with the combined output expected to rise a smidgen from its current 717bhp and 738lb ft. There have been updates to the M5 powertrain already, reducing the role of the V8 in that overall output and ramping up the electric motor’s contribution. This is due to tightening emissions regulations, with BMW M needing to muzzle the V8 to meet Euro 7 requirements.
It’s possible that the M5 could benefit from advances in electric powertrain tech we’re now seeing in the i3 and before it, the iX3. At present the 18.6kWh battery pack is good for 42 miles. If that 18.6kWh were a direct percentage of the new i3’s battery pack, the M5’s electric range would theoretically double, though of course numerous other factors (like the motor, aero, rolling resistance) come into play when it comes to range. Either way, there’s scope to either add range, or lighten the M5’s battery with the new tech, if ‘just’ 42 miles of range is sufficient. The M5 won't be alone as a high-performance plug-in hybrid exec either, with the next-generation Audi RS6 getting a bank of batteries and a motor strapped to it too.
Will there be a new BMW M5 CS?
Will we see another return of the CS badge for the M5? We can only hope, given the excellent eCoty 2021-winning form of the last one. If another M5 CS is in the pipeline, we certainly hope some of the c/700kg the M5 has gained since the last one is shed in the process of adding focus. Bentley has set an exciting precedent for its special models, introducing the latest flagship Supersports model as a limited-run, lightweight, de-powered, de-hybridised model. This could be the perfect formula for a proper, lightweight CS to follow – especially for a badge that’s always sold in limited numbers.
Fairly significant changes are expected on the inside, in line with what’s coming with the Neue Klasse range of cars. In the Neue Klasse concept car, BMW’s new panoramic vision system takes the place of the traditional driver’s display that’s integrated in a curved panel with the infotainment display on the current M5. This system features a black strip at the base of the windscreen laden with visuals from pillar to pillar.
Then for the infotainment, a large parallelogram (with nipped corners) screen adds to the pixel count. All of this has been mooted for imminent production cars but whether the M5’s interior makeover will go the whole Neue Klasse nine yards remains to be seen. We do expect the panoramic vision tech to feature in some way.
