Is the all-new G90 BMW M5 coming soon to PH?

BMW PH receives regulatory approval for a passenger vehicle with a 4395cc engine

This year's Philippine International Motor Show saw BMW distributor SMC Asia Car Distributors Corp. officially launch the next-generation 5 Series Touring. Even better is that they brought the top-of-the-line EV version dubbed the i5 M60 xDrive Touring.

With over 600 PS and 795 Nm of torque on tap, the all-electric i5 Touring is more powerful than the sedan version (i5 eDrive40) which only puts out 340 PS and 430 Nm of torque. However, BMW Philippines appears to be brewing something else.

Since the automaker now offers both the sedan and wagon body styles of the all-new 5 Series, we cannot help but think that the all-new G90 (and G99) M5 is on its way to the country. In fact, we recently received word that the automaker has secured regulatory approval for a passenger vehicle that's powered by a 4395cc engine.

Based on the engine displacement, it appears to be the brand's S68 engine which has an exact size of 4.4 liters, comes with eight cylinders, and can be found in multiple models like the XM, X5 M60i, and of course, the all-new BMW M5. Since the XM is already on sale in the country and the X5 only comes with a turbo-diesel inline-six, it's hard not to ignore the possibility that BMW Philippines is already preparing to bring the next-generation M5.

There's no word yet on whether the supposed all-new BMW M5 will arrive as a sedan or as a wagon. However, since the brand already offers both body styles, perhaps the automaker will make both body styles available to customers.

As far as its powertrain is concerned, the next-generation BMW M5 gets an electrified 4.4L twin-turbo V8. The engine alone makes an impressive 585 PS with 750 Nm of torque. But thanks to an eDrive Motor and M Hybrid drive system, the M5 has a total system output of 727 PS and 1,000 Nm of torque.

Power is then sent to an 8-speed automatic transmission with all-wheel drive. It also has an 18.6 kWh battery pack which gives the M5 an electric range of up to 67 km based on the WLTP cycle.

With the BMW i5 Touring already available, we won't be surprised if BMW plans to reveal the all-new M5 sometime next year.