BMW is keeping the wagon body style alive for its next-generation 5 Series, and looks set to even offer it with an electric powertrain.
The BMW i5 Touring is expected to be revealed during either 2023 or 2024, and once it goes on sale it won’t necessarily have any direct rivals.
Audi hasn’t confirmed the A6 Avant e-tron will go into production yet, and the Mercedes-Benz EQE is only available with a sedan body style.
Electric i5 sedan prototypes have been spied a number of times now, which can be distinguished by the filled-in double-kidney grille and ‘Electrified Vehicle’ badging.
The first images of the long-roofed BMW 5 Series Touring were also snapped just a few weeks ago.
This spied i5 Touring prototype is believed to be a high-performance M60 variant as it has red-painted brake calipers.
Our spy photographers also captured what could be an i5 40 Touring variant on the back of a vehicle carrier, featuring 21-inch two-tone alloy wheels.
It’s expected the i5 M60 Touring will be the flagship all-electric variant, whereas the i5 40 Touring will most likely be an entry-level variant.
There are still a lot of details hidden by camouflage on both these spied i5 Touring prototypes, but it most likely won’t be long until we see some more.
Previous spy photos have revealed the cabin of the next 5er will feature a dual-screen setup, as is quickly becoming the norm in BMW’s model range, with the latest iDrive 8 operating system.
It’s unclear what type of electric powertrain setups the BMW i5 M60 Touring and i5 40 Touring will receive just yet, but they could be identical to the ones in the iX SUV.
The BMW iX xDrive40 is powered by a dual-motor all-wheel drive setup with 240kW of power and 630Nm of torque. It’s claimed to do the 0-100km/h sprint in 6.1 seconds.
The iX M60 is also powered by a dual-motor all-wheel drive setup, but produces 455kW of power and 1100Nm of torque. It’s claimed to do the 0-100km/h sprint in 3.8 seconds.
As previously reported, the next-generation BMW 5 Series will be offered with a range of combustion and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrains.
While the i5 sedan will give BMW a direct rival to the likes of the Mercedes-Benz EQE and upcoming Audi A6 e-tron, the next-generation M5 isn’t expected to go all-electric just yet.
It’s expected to borrow the PHEV powertrain from the recently-revealed XM SUV, which consists of a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 with 360kW/650Nm, a 145kW/280Nm electric motor, and a 25.7kWh battery pack. Total system outputs are 480kW of power and 800Nm of torque.
Bimmerpost forum member ynguldyn, who claims to compile future product information from leaks within BMW, said in June this year the next M5 will come in both sedan and Touring wagon body styles.
The mooted M5 Touring would once again give BMW a rival to the Audi RS6 and Mercedes-AMG E63 wagons.
The current-generation BMW 5 Series has been on sale since 2016 and was facelifted in 2020, at which point the Touring was discontinued locally.
Its arch-rival, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, is also set to be revealed in redesigned form during 2023. It has been spied in both sedan and wagon forms, too, though like the 5 Series it’s no longer available in wagon guise in Australia.
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MORE: Everything BMW 5 Series
