SPY PICS: BMW M5 Touring hits the ’Ring

It was officially teased for the first time in June and now the exact same camouflaged 2024 BMW M5 Touring has been spied hot-lapping the Nurburgring.

As you can see from these spy shots, the same BMW M5 wagon we saw in teaser images just weeks ago is now undergoing high-speed development testing at the infamous 21km German public road course, ahead of its global release next year.

Therefore there’s little new to see at the back-end, where a prominent rear roof spoiler, revised tail-lights, quad exhaust outlets and heavily flared wheel-arches accommodating big alloy wheels have already been seen.

Up front, however, we get our first look at the M5 Touring’s more aggressive front bumper with bigger air intakes to improve cooling, as well as its lower lip spoiler and M-specific kidney grille incorporating a pair of forward-facing radar sensors.

As everyone knows by now, the 2024 BMW M5 Touring will join the inaugural M3 Touring in BMW showrooms in 2024, making it the first M5 wagon available since the V10-powered E61-series was axed in 2010.

Based on the upcoming eighth-generation (G60) BMW 5 Series, the M5 Touring will inherit its plug-in hybrid 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 powertrain from the BMW XM super-SUV to deliver up to 590kW of power and 1000Nm of torque.

If those outputs materialise, the M5 Touring would usurp the 560kW/1050Nm Porsche Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo as the world’s most powerful wagon, and it could hit 100km/h in less than three seconds (making it quicker than any SUV, bar the discontinued Tesla Model X Plaid) on its way to a 300km/h-plus top speed.

The Porsche Panamera Sport Turimso Turbo S E-Hybrid currently holds the title of world’s fastest production wagon at 315km/h – faster than any SUV.

BMW’s xDrive all-wheel drive system and eight-speed automatic transmission will be standard, and a circa-25kWh battery will offer an electric-only driving range of up to 90km, if the XM is any guide.

Inside the low-slung body, the M5 Touring will score all of the new 5 Series’ goodies – including a 14.9-inch infotainment touch-screen, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and the latest iDrive 8 operating system with 5G connectivity and augmented-reality satellite-navigation.

But there’ll also be the usual host of BMW M extras, including an M-specific steering wheel, seats, instrument displays and a range of other sporty cosmetic highlights.

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