The 2024 BMW 5 Series debuted with a range of engine options spanning small four-cylinders to hybrid sixes—but no V8s. Indeed, after decades on the menu, the V8 BMW 5 Series is dead and gone. Whether the M5 will bring it back isn’t confirmed either, though everything suggests it’ll keep the V8 around for another few years.
Debuting in 1992 on the E34 540i, the V8 has been an option on BMW’s midsize sedan for more than 30 years. While not the most powerful engine on the E34, it took over for the inline-six on the E39 M5 before being displaced by the V10 in the E60. Since then though, the top engine on both the regular 5 Series and M5 has been a turbo V8.
However, for the 2024 model, BMW has given no indication that the V8 is coming back. Some trims it was historically available on are now powered by different engines, like the 540i xDrive that now uses a 3.0-liter, twin-turbo inline-six with mild hybrid assist. The 550i is entirely gone from the U.S. market (there’ll be a hybrid 550e elsewhere), having been replaced as the top M-lite car by the i5 M60 xDrive EV.
As for the M5, we asked BMW, and a spokesperson said they couldn’t tell us whether the V8 will be back. But the prognosis looks good, as a rumor from Car Magazine in 2020 indicated it’ll return in turbocharged, hybrid form with the power to rival the XM Label Red. That’d mean at least 738 horsepower and pound-feet of torque, not to mention a possible M5 Touring wagon version.
But of course, we won’t know for sure until BMW confirms the V8 M5’s return, which it’s expected to do next year. The last V8 M5 may not have yet been built, though the curtain has already closed on V8s for lesser 5 Series models.
Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach them here: james@thedrive.com