After months of rumors, recanted statements, and will-they-or-won’t-they trepidation, it’s officially official: America and Canada will be getting the incoming BMW M5 Touring, and this fast wagon will be arriving sooner than you might expect.
While this is the first time America’s getting a BMW M5 wagon, it isn’t the only M5 with a hatch. The first M5 Touring was a ’90s six-cylinder belter, exclusively available with a manual transmission and rare as hens’ teeth. BMW only built 891 of them, making these E34 models rather collectable today. The second M5 Touring was a complete change of pace, a feisty V10-powered psychopath with a single-clutch automated manual gearbox that only really worked when you were properly on it. It was a car that lived at 10, and while they’ve been legal to import into Canada for a while, America will still have to wait another eight years for it to be legal.
The next M5 Touring is set to be a change of direction once again. Unlike prior M5 wagons, it’ll be hybridized, all-wheel-drive, and more cooperative with a vision of a greener future. However, it should still be absurdly quick, able to cover great distances at an astonishing pace with four passengers and plenty of luggage aboard.
Given how Americans have been historically deprived of fast wagons, the incoming M5 Touring is something worth getting excited over. It’s some evidence that someone inside BMW is listening to the fans, and it should make our roads a little more interesting. However, two lingering question marks remain, and BMW isn’t addressing them just yet.
The first is weight. After all, next-generation BMW M5 prototypes have been spotted wearing “Hybrid Test Vehicle” warning stickers, which lines up with unconfirmed reports that it’ll get the V8 plug-in hybrid powertrain from the BMW XM. In that rolling rhinoceros, a 4.4-liter turbocharged V8 and an electric motor work together to crank out 644 combined horsepower, but big batteries mean big weight. The outgoing BMW M5 Competition already weighed 4,345 pounds, so what will adding electrification do?
The other question is cost. Granted, the outgoing M5 was not an inexpensive vehicle, but the incoming M5 Touring faces competition from the Audi RS6 Avant and the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo in the ultra-wagon category. Wagons already aren’t recipes for North American sales success, and BMW will need to keep M5 Touring pricing in line with that of the Audi to not get swept away.
With production for the U.S. market starting in the fourth quarter of this year, expect further details and uncamouflaged photos of the new BMW M5 Touring to be released over the coming months. While there’s lots we still don’t know about this ultra wagon, it already seems a whole lot cooler than getting a new bicycle for Christmas.
(Photo credits: BMW)
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This is exciting for the wagon enthusiasts, I just hope it doesn’t have huge buck teeth and that Bimmer finally tones that down, at least for this
“I can’t wait to buy one used in five or ten years.”
-The entire target market for this car 😛
I wish there was a market for a non-luxury hybrid long roof. Camry/Accord sized wagon PHEV is what I want right now. I’m sure I’m not they only interested party, but I’m also sure we are not legion.
If this is available for around 80k base, and does NOT have a pop up infotainment screen, I am going to buy this. Maybe if they sell well, they would offer a regular non-top trim racer version for regular people? That one would be much easier to get into I’d bet.
Wife already has given approval, I’ve been searching for wagons since we got married but never was the right time. Bring it on!!
Seeing a M340i is approaching $70k these days, I wouldn’t get too excited about a M5 for $80k. Wasn’t the last M5 sedan $100k easy?
You are probably right, your sn is apt ha! I have no interest in BMW in general, so I am not familiar with the current pricing.
I guess I have to get one coming off a lease or hope the pleb version of the wagon is produced.
I really wanted a M340i Touring when car shopping a few years ago. For some reason, BMW North America would only sell a long roof 330i. I had to settle for the X3 M40i… its a great SUV, but I still wish I could have bought the 3 series wagon with the B58.
Dream on. The base 5 series touring starts at 62.650€ as of today. An M3 touring is already 124.250€.
As for the infotainment screen, expect the same IMAX-with-illegible-graphics-f**k-physical-buttons arrangement as found in the regular new 5 series.
You guys really killed my hopes fast. I guess its better to rip the band-aid off though!
Having said that, sir, I think your ideal car might be this one:
https://www.classic.com/veh/1995-bmw-m5-touring-wbshj91070bl01932-pgXwEO4/
Not expensive for a “rather collectable” car.
$90k??? For a 30 year old wagon with 108k miles? I like the car but that’s a hard Crack Pipe for me. That same listing says that one with similar mileage sold on Cars & Bids for $41k less than a year ago. I’d spend my $41k on something else, but that price doesn’t seem entirely unreasonable.
I’m really not sure how much BMW needs to worry about Audi’s pricing as long as they keep it sane. RS and M may both be the top dogs from their marques, but they don’t really perform the same. This will most likely blow the doors off the current RS6.
They probably saw how well the STUPID Rs6 is selling and wanted in. Here is their chance to one up Audi:
Why the RS6 is awful: https://i.imgur.com/g6pG5Sm.png
Is this satire?
Genuinely hate it. UrS6/RS2 is way cooler. IMHO C8 RS6 is just audi cashing in on what enthusiasts have created/maintained without their help or support for decades. All the 5 cyl Audi guys I know think the RS6 is a joke.
Nobody is taking an RS6 to the track. You can go a lot faster for a lot less money or a hell of a lot faster for the same money.
People get too caught up in 0-60 and 1/4 mile stats without looking at the car as a whole. The people that don’t care about bragging rights over 1/10th of a second in the quarter buy an RS.
That’s funny, because when I bag on the C8 RS6 and talk about how much better the older Audi performance wagons are, cool cats and kittens start arguing with me that it can shift in .0005 milliseconds therefore it’s better, or some other such nonsense.
Is it possible that wagons are making a comeback? We were down to… one… or two urwagons available in the US, and now we’re coming back up to 4? Surely the I-can’t-believe-it’s-not-a-minivan cute ute fad must be wearing thin by now.
-Current fastwagon owner/DDer
One of the 891 E34s will be in my lottery win dream garage, next to an original NSX, FD RX7, Exige Cup 260 and an Evora GT410.
I had an E34 535i saloon, and it was epic. A great car to drive 1000 miles to do some Nurburgring laps in. More space, speed and handling would make it perfect.
NSX/FD/Exige/Evora are all scratching the same itch. Suggest you pick one, then fill out the other bays with a lifted AWD van for roadtrips and towing, and maybe a hot hatch for running errands around town, etc
For the last five years I had a GT86 and a Z4 Coupe as my two cars. I recently replaced the BMW with a Lotus. I like 2 seat coupes. Once a year I hire a van to do van things with.
I’m in the UK: road trips last a day at most, and we don’t tow anything.
That makes sense, I guess. Question: Have you driven a classic mini yet?
Yep, the very first car I drove was a mini, on an abandoned airfield (thanks USAF). As I remember it it was like being shut in a fridge and pushed down a hill. Not a fan.
My cousin had two of them, loved them enough she daily drove them for decades. I didn’t enjoy being a passenger in them, but maybe they have great steering or something that makes the rest of the experience worthwhile.
You should try driving a sorted one sometime, on public streets. I’ve never had so much fun. The steering and grip is amazing, and it’s so slow you’re in it like 11/10ths, all the time. I miss mine.
If I ever have the chance I’ll give it a go!
This is awesome. I am happy that a BMW longtail is back. This actually motivates me to want to keep mine. I’m on the fence.
I got really excited when I saw it would come to Canada, but for me the last real M5 was the E60. You could get it with a manual, it wasn’t full of too much crap (still had a lot of crap), and it was still somewhat analog.
Since then, the M5 has been a speed-focussed robot, and a huge case-in-point that BMW has lost the plot.
Jason Cammisa said once that what makes him mad about modern BMWs is he remembers how good they used to be. I thought that summed it up well.
Quite frankly, I would rather save my money, buy an E39 540iT, and spend a bit of cash on a 6 speed swap. Or nab an E60 535XiT with a stick and turn up the wick on the turbo. I’d bet either one would end up more fun.
Drop the S85 into an E61. Done. I have a manual E61 530, and it’s brilliant besides the fact that it’s 18 years old, and made of biodegradable plastic.
When Audi brought the RS6 over, they went, screw it, let’s bring the regular A6 allroad over as well (there are many people who know about the RS6 but don’t know that we can also buy the A6).
Any chance that BMW might grace us with regular 5-series, like a 540i or something?
Given that the RS6 outsells the A6 Allroad in the US, I doubt BMW sees the need for a cheaper variant, sadly. I wish they’d consider bringing the i5 Touring—look, ma, no competition for a small but wealthy and loyal market segment!
If BMW is federalizing the wagon body, will we also see the 530e Touring as well?
I think if you really wanted to try you could convince the NHTSA that if you put US spec airbags, lights and reflectors on the car it’d be legal. It’s possible but I don’t see that being very profitable unless they ruin it by putting plastic cladding on the side.
True, but Mercedes and Audi are both currently doing that, and BMW hates having a gap in their lineup when the other two are there.
Dealers will order a combined 8 of them for stock, add $30,000 in adjusted markups, and BMW will conclude Americans don’t want wagons and withdraw it after a year or two.
Carnac here nailed it.
COTD
Look at that front overhang! And the rear too. How very un-BMW. Crash standards for the win.
Can we maybe get like…an M340i wagon? You know, something for us mortals? This is cool and I’m happy it’s happening but I’m definitely worried about the weight. The RS6 Avant is 5,000 goddamn pounds…so I can’t imagine adding a massive battery to an already hefty 5 series is going to come in any lighter than that.
For context: a Chevy Tahoe weighs about 5,500 pounds. A Toyota Highlander weighs between 4,100 and 4,400. A Kia Telluride comes in at roughly the same. Those cars all seat up to 8. Why exactly do so called performance oriented cars need to outweigh family haulers?
It’s an issue across the board but Germany in particular has quite a bit of explaining to do.
M340i Wagon would be a brilliant offering from BMW here in the US.
The new 530e xDrive Touring weighs in at 4,839 lbs, and that’s a hybrid turbo 4 cylinder. It is also 10 inches shorter than a Tahoe with only a 3″ shorter wheel base
I believe the sedan has been confirmed at nearly 5400lb…
Manual, M340i wagon is my unobtainable but financially achievable dream car.
So the M5 now weighs as much as a full sized truck. Jesus tap dancing Christ…
Possible answer: Emissions. Heavier cars are held to less restrictive emissions standards I think? So if you can build a powerful engine but it emits too much for a lightweight car, cram it full of luxury features and extra steel until it’s heavy enough? I could be wrong.
Sign of how much BMW has changed that this is completely uninteresting to me. I’ve had an e28 M5, and a few other BMWs, but the only think I wonder about this is how terrible the grille will be.
Not that BMW cares, as they seem to be keeping their current buyers happy.
Allllllll I want for Christmas is… for it to not be ugly
So … without the two front teef?
Hey, Rufus the naked mole-rat has feelings! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISoXsHHRhEw
You win.
Will this be an actual wagon, or an SUV?
No manual. No care. 🙂
Cool it people. I’m a moron.
Here’s to hoping they won’t be marked up like crazy, but seeing how the RS6 was treated…. I’m saddened
That’s ok I won’t be able to afford it before the markup