BMW is testing an electric BMW X5 M, and it’s starting to look the part. A camouflaged prototype was caught near the Nürburgring in late October with a bigger grille, active aero flaps and a large roof spoiler. The US angle is a good one. If the reports hold, this 900-hp-class SUV will come out of BMW’s plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. BMW hasn’t announced it yet.
Where it was spotted
Carscoops published photos from SH Proshots on October 27 of a fully wrapped prototype testing just outside the Nürburgring in Germany. BMWBlog posted a spy video of an electric test car the same day, and Spanish site Motor.es followed on October 28 with a 15-photo SH Proshots gallery.
Here’s what the photos show. The kidney grille is much bigger than on a regular X5, and BMWBlog compares its shape to the grille Bertone drew for the 1970 Garmisch concept. Motor.es spotted horizontal flaps in the front bumper that open and close for cooling, which is a form of active aero. There are gills along the edges of the hood, the stance is lower and wider, and the roof spoiler sticks out well past the standard car’s. The back has no exhaust tips, which makes sense on an EV. The black wheels and parts of the lights are temporary, according to Motor.es.
What’s confirmed
BMW hasn’t announced an X5 M of any kind for the new generation, and it hasn’t published specs. What is official is the regular lineup. BMW showed the new X5 at Plant Spartanburg on June 30, with these US prices before destination:
- X5 40: $69,800
- X5 40 xDrive: $72,100
- X5 50e xDrive (plug-in hybrid): $77,500
- iX5 60 xDrive (electric): $79,800
BMW’s US release also says a V8-powered M Performance model will arrive later in 2027. For reference, the outgoing gas X5 M Competition starts at $128,375, according to BMWBlog‘s 2026 pricing breakdown.
What’s rumored or reported
Power is the big number. Carscoops, BMWBlog and Motor.es all report around 900 hp from four motors, one per wheel. Some headlines round that up: Motor.es’s title says about 1,000 CV, and Auto Datalog’s says nearly 1,000 hp. The text of both stories, though, says about 900. We’d treat 900 as the reported figure and 1,000 as headline rounding. For scale, Carscoops puts the regular electric flagship at 570 hp.
Motor.es also reports a 141-kWh (net) battery and close to 800 km of range, about 500 miles. It doesn’t say which test cycle that’s on, and a US EPA number would almost certainly be lower.
Timing comes from BMWBlog, which says BMW will reportedly start building the electric X5 M at Spartanburg in April 2028, with sales later that year. Production of the V8 X5 M is said to follow in December 2028, possibly pushing its launch into early 2029. If that’s right, the electric X5 M reaches buyers before the gas one.
How credible is it? The photos are solid, and several outlets agree on the four-motor, roughly 900-hp layout, but they’re probably drawing from the same industry sources. The battery size, range and build dates are single-outlet reports. Treat them as likely but unconfirmed.
Why US buyers should care
Every X5 generation has been built in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and both X5 M versions are reportedly headed down the same Spartanburg line. The likely rivals are the Mercedes-AMG GT SUV, the Porsche Cayenne Electric and Audi’s upcoming RS Q6, according to Carscoops. BMW hasn’t given a price. Given that the gas X5 M already costs more than $128,000, we wouldn’t expect the electric one to come in cheaper, though that’s our guess. For the regular X5 and iX5, see our roundup of every new BMW for 2027.
Image credits: Spy photos by SH Proshots, via Carscoops. Additional spy coverage from BMWBlog (video), Motor.es (SH Proshots gallery) and Auto Datalog. Featured image: current BMW X5 M (F95) by OWS Photography / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).
