BMW 5 Series Touring leaked

Just as the new 2024 BMW 5 Series sedan and its EV sibling, the battery-electric 2024 BMW i5, starts rolling into showrooms around Australia, the wagon version of BMW’s eighth-generation large car has broken cover after it was leaked on Instagram today.

Spanish spy pic sleuths Cochespias published photos of the large luxury wagon ahead of its global embargo, stealing the thunder from what’s expected to be a highly-choreographed reveal.

The photos were taken from inside a studio in October year during the BMW i5 global launch in Portugal and were supposed to be a tightly guarded secret.

Codenamed G61, the BMW i5 Touring shown here will look pretty much identical to petrol-powered BMW 5 Series Touring models and it’s clear from the photos that the rear-end design has a more sloped tailgate and rear window arrangement than before.

Viewed from the side, the window line curves upwards towards the rear, while the front-end design of the BMW 5 Series wagon is identical to that of the sedan.

BMW hasn’t confirmed one way or the other whether the BMW 5 Series wagon will be offered in Australia, but it appears unlikely at this point given sales of traditional station wagons continue to be cannibalised by SUVs.

The last time BMW sold the 5 Series Touring wagon in Australia was in 2020, although it was made available to police forces after that.

Nevertheless, the G61 BMW 5 Series and i5 Touring models are almost certain to be propelled by the same powertrains as sedans, which are available with inline four- and six-cylinder turbo-petrol and diesel engines, along with single and dual e-motors for i5 versions.

At the top of the family tree will be M5 sedan and wagon – the latter a direct rival for the iconic Audi RS 6. These models are expected to be powered by a development of the V8 plug-in hybrid powertrain from the XM Label Red, which pumps out a thunderous 550kW of power and 1000Nm of torque.