BMW.SG | BMW Singapore Owners Community The Ultimate BMW Community – Established Since 2001
BMW has built a 717hp M5 Touring police car, and it is every bit as menacing as it sounds. The one-off estate wears the blue, white and fluorescent yellow livery used by Germany’s Federal Police. A light bar sits on the roof. Anyone thinking of outrunning it on the autobahn may want to reconsider.
The project came together under Sascha Eifel, who heads development for authority and special vehicles at BMW M, with input from former development boss Dirk Häcker. BMW already supplies 5 Series Touring models to the Federal Police, so the livery existed. Fitting it was the tricky part. The M5 Touring is far wider than a standard 5 Series, so the graphics had to be stretched and reshaped around the swollen arches and deeper bumpers.
Under the bonnet sits the familiar twin-turbocharged 4.4-litre V8, paired with a plug-in hybrid system. Combined output is 717hp and 1,000Nm. On a derestricted stretch of motorway, that is a serious deterrent. There is a quieter trick too. The M5 Touring can cover up to 40 miles on electricity alone, which makes it rather good at slipping through town without announcing itself.
Before anyone gets carried away, this is a show car. BMW has been clear that it carries none of the kit a working patrol vehicle needs. The badging gives the game away as well, since BMW’s own logo sits on the rear doors where a Bavarian state crest would normally go. For now it is a very convincing prop.
Whether it stays that way is up to the forces. Eifel sounds hopeful that interest will follow, and BMW says it could build them if the orders arrive. German police have long favoured fast estates for motorway duty, and few cars tick that box harder than an M5 Touring. Boot space, pace and a hybrid badge in one package. Stranger things have reached the fleet.
