BMW M5 facelift spied in Germany wearing near final headlights

Spied in Germany, with lights it was not supposed to show

Carscoops photographed a facelifted BMW M5 prototype testing in Germany in images published on 30 October 2026. The car wore heavy camouflage over the kidney grille and down the centre of the hood, the usual trick to hide a new face before launch. But the test car had slipped up elsewhere. Its headlight units were production parts, each with a slim horizontal LED daytime running light sitting above the main lamp, previewing the smaller 3 Series' visor style look on the big M saloon.

The giveaway was the colour. BMW is giving M cars yellow running lights to set them apart from regular 5 Series models, Carscoops reported, but this prototype still had the white lights taken from a non M car, a sign the parts were fitted for testing convenience and not yet final. The photographer credited by Carscoops is Baldauf, a regular contributor to the outlet's spy shot network in Europe.

This follows an earlier Carscoops sighting, published on 8 October 2026, of the same facelift at the Nurburgring. That car showed a shark nose front end, a slimmer kidney grille, reshaped bumper intakes and new LED tail light graphics with a reworked bumper and quad tailpipes. Inside, Carscoops reported a larger infotainment display, a new steering wheel and BMW's Panoramic iDrive strip running along the base of the windscreen. The plug in hybrid powertrain carries over, with the charging port still on the front fender.

What is confirmed and what is still a guess

BMW has not confirmed the facelift, which the carmaker internally calls a Life Cycle Impulse rather than a full model change. Carscoops expects the updated M5 to arrive in showrooms in 2027. Nothing about power has been confirmed either. The current M5 uses a 4.4 litre twin turbo V8 with a plug in hybrid motor for a combined 727 hp and 1,000 Nm, according to BMW's own launch statement for India, with an 18.6 kWh battery good for up to 69 km of electric range on the WLTP cycle. Until BMW says otherwise, treat any power number for the facelift as expected, not fact.

What it means for Indian buyers

The BMW M5 is sold in India only as a Completely Built Up import, in a single M5 xDrive variant. BMW's India launch statement puts the car at ₹1.99 crore ex-showroom when it went on sale here on 21 November 2024. Zigwheels lists the current ex-showroom price in November 2026 at ₹2.12 crore, with on road prices running to about ₹2.65 crore in cities such as Bangalore and Chennai.

A CBU model like the M5 usually reaches India well after its global reveal, since BMW India has to source cars from the same plant that supplies left hand drive markets first. If the facelift breaks cover in 2027 as Carscoops expects, an India launch realistically sits in late 2027 or 2028. Buyers who want the current car's styling, including the car park friendly single variant and its known 727 hp output, have no obvious reason to wait once the facelift is officially unveiled. Those happy to wait longer for the Panoramic iDrive screen and the updated face should watch for an official reveal before BMW India opens bookings.

Sources

• Facelifted BMW M5 Shows Off Its Production Lights, But In The Wrong Color
• Facelifted BMW M5 Spied Hauling Its Heavy Body Around The Nurburgring
• Duality Untamed: The all-new BMW M5 launched in India
• BMW M5 price and specifications