A camouflaged prototype of BMW’s fully electric X5 M has been filmed pounding pavement again, and even under heavy disguise the thing looks nothing like the standard X5. The kidney grille alone tells the story. It’s massive, reshaped, and carries a silhouette that echoes Bertone’s 1970 Garmisch concept, the oddball one-off built on a 2002 tii platform.
That is not the kind of design reference BMW drops casually. The spy video, captured by PrototypeHunters, reveals a front end that has been completely reworked for the M treatment. Yellow daytime running lights, first seen on the X5 M60e, appear to carry over.
So do the Track Lights mounted at the bumper corners, a detail borrowed from the M Neue Klasse concept and already spotted on electric M3 prototypes. At the back, a roof spoiler juts out aggressively beyond anything on a regular X5, and there are no exhaust pipes. None needed.
The numbers circulating around this machine are staggering. Four electric motors, one per wheel, producing up to 900 horsepower. That would make it one of the most powerful SUVs BMW has ever built, regardless of fuel source.
The standard iX5 carries a 141-kWh battery pack, but insiders suggest the M variant could get its own dedicated unit. This mirrors what BMW is doing with the electric M3, which uses a different battery than the standard i3.
Production is slated to begin at BMW’s Spartanburg, South Carolina plant in April 2028, with deliveries expected later that year. That timeline puts the electric X5 M ahead of its gasoline sibling. The combustion-powered X5 M, still running a V8, isn’t expected to start rolling off the line until December 2028, which could push customer deliveries into early 2029.
This sequencing is deliberate. BMW is putting the electric version first, not the V8. Five years ago, the i4 M50 cracked the door open for electrified M cars. Now the electric X5 M is positioned as the tip of the spear for the next generation, not an alternative to the combustion model but the one that arrives sooner.
And yet BMW is not abandoning the V8. Both versions will carry the X5 M name, following the same strategy applied to the M3, which will exist as both gasoline and electric without the “i” prefix. Anyone still calling it the iX5 M is behind the curve. The branding is being flattened into one name, two powertrains, customer’s choice.
Before either X5 M variant arrives, BMW will roll out the X5 M60 with a V8 in 2027, potentially alongside an iX5 M70 M Performance model. That’s three tiers of high-performance X5 arriving within roughly 18 months. Munich is carpet-bombing its own SUV lineup.
The competitive backdrop makes the timing urgent. Mercedes-AMG has been pushing its electrified muscle hard. Porsche’s Cayenne is expected to go fully electric in its next generation. Audi’s electric Q8 variants keep expanding, and BMW cannot afford to be late.
What remains unknown is whether 900 horsepower from four motors will translate into the kind of driving feel that M buyers expect, or whether it will just be another fast, heavy SUV that pins you to the seat in a straight line. The prototype is still well over a year from its debut. But the grille alone suggests they are not building this thing to blend in.
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