BMW has revealed a one-off M5 Touring dressed in German police livery, a machine that would give any highway patrol a decisive performance advantage. The estate, developed under the supervision of Sascha Eifel, Head of Development Authority and Special Vehicle / Functional Safety at BMW M, and former head of development Dirk Häcker, pairs the familiar blue, white and fluorescent yellow Polizei colour scheme with the M5 Touring’s twin-turbocharged plug-in hybrid V8.
The project began with the livery. BMW already builds 5 Series Tourings for Germany’s Federal Police, so a suitable blue, white and yellow wrap was available. Because the M5 Touring is significantly wider than the standard 5 Series, the design had to be adapted to fit over its swollen wheel arches and aggressive bumpers. The result looks like a genuine police cruiser, although BMW is careful to describe it as a show car at this stage.
That caution is warranted. Beyond the wrap and a roof-mounted flashing light bar, the vehicle lacks the equipment required for real police work. BMW has also applied its own logo to the rear doors rather than the Bavarian state flag used by the police. The manufacturer has made clear that the car is not ready to begin catching criminals, despite appearances.
Under the bonnet, the M5 Touring combines a 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 with a plug-in hybrid system to produce 717bhp and 1,000Nm of torque. That output would suit police operating on Germany’s high-speed motorways, where pursuit capability matters. The plug-in hybrid setup also provides an all-electric range of up to 40 miles (65km), allowing officers to move through cities and residential neighbourhoods quietly.
German police currently use a wide variety of vehicles from manufacturers including Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Eifel appears hopeful that the one-off will attract interest from police departments, and BMW has indicated it could build M5 Tourings to order if forces want them. Such a decision would rest with local authorities rather than the manufacturer alone.
The M5 Touring police car therefore sits between a design study and a potential product. It demonstrates what BMW M could offer to emergency services, but it also highlights the gap between a convincing appearance and the specialised communications, safety and operational equipment that a working patrol vehicle requires. For now, the car remains a one-off, and any move to put high-performance hybrid estates into police fleets would depend on demand from the authorities themselves.