The G99 will be M’s third wagon after the six-cylinder E34 and the V10-engined E61. Following the debut of the G90, the Bavarian automaker confirmed that its next M5 Touring will have its market launch in November 2024 as well. The Dingolfing plant in Germany will start churning out the new M5 Sedan in July 2024.
The second M5 Touring of the bunch rolled out in early 2007 with a free-breathing V10 under the hood. For some reason or another, BMW didn’t bother giving it a manual. Only the M5 Sedan for the US market received a row-your-own tranny, of which 1,364 units were produced. The grand total includes six pre-production cars.
Believe it or not, the SMG III-equipped wagon is even rarer. Through 2010, a meager 1,009 examples of the breed were delivered. Turning back time to the first M5 Touring, it dropped in 1992. Production came to a grinding halt after 891 vehicles were finished. The E34 uses an improved version of the M1’s inline-six engine, with BMW quoting 340 ps and 400 Nm (335 horsepower and 295 pound-feet) as opposed to 277 ps and 330 Nm (274 horsepower and 243 pound-feet).
As for the V10 in the E61, make that 500 horsepower at 7,750 revolutions per minute and 383 pound-feet (520 Nm) at 6,100 revolutions per minute, with a redline of 8,250 revolutions per minute. Seriously good numbers for an engine developed some two decades ago, indeed.
Photo: Theottle on YouTube
The G90-series M5 Sedan, however, is a different animal due to a twin-turbo V8 that cranks out 577 horsepower and 553 pound-feet (750 Nm) of twist, channeled to all four wheels by M xDrive with 2WD mode. It’s joined by a torque-converter automatic boasting an integrated electric motor that is connected to a high-voltage battery.
Internal combustion and electric oomph combine for a total system output of 717 horsepower and 738 pound-feet (1,000 Nm), which may seem a tad excessive. Considering that BMW lists a staggering curb weight of 5,390 pounds (2,445 kilograms) for the US-market M5 Sedan, you definitely need that kind of power and torque.
It’s only natural to assume that M5 Touring will be chunkier still, and that’s bad news for two reasons. First of all, imagine how much those 20- and 21-inch tires will scream for their lives in the corners. And secondly, the M5 Sedan is already a bit disappointing in terms of acceleration from a standstill to 60 miles per hour (97 clicks).
BMW says 3.4 seconds or two-tenths worse than a base F90, whereas the previous-gen M5 Competition requires 3.1 seconds to reach that speed. The M5 CS, on the other hand, was advertised with a 0-60 time of 2.9 seconds.
