New BMW M5 and Mercedes E63 AMG spied

The supersaloon duel continues into the next generation - here's the first look

With M3 vs. C63 continuing to boil away (we'll get them both together soon, promise), the M Division against AMG battle is moving onto a fresh battlefield with new warriors.

Very clearly an AMG from here

The cars are new but of course the war has been waging for 25 years now. The M5 may have effectively established the supersaloon 30 years ago but the Mercedes 500E arrived in 1990 and they've been going at it ever since. As long as there's an M5, you suspect there will always be an E55 or E63, some kind of AMG E-Class, to tempt buyers away from it.

Here we can see both cars testing for the first time, ahead of full reveals sometime next year. The standard versions are still yet to be seen so the performance flagships are a little way off. But PH loves a supersaloon so apologies for the perhaps premature excitement.

Our spy photographers are confident the M5 was V8 powered and it would seem safe to assume the E63 will keep eight cylinders; the old twin-turbo may have been phased out but the 'hot-V' V8 seems to have filled that void perfectly. Will they be much beyond the c.550hp of the current cars? Or will there be a focus on reduced weight for increased performance?

V8 will stay in the M5 - good news?

As for the styling details, there are a few points of note even at this early stage. The E63 clearly has rear lights inspired by the C- and S-Class, the wheels back there look very similar to the GT's and the four exhausts are already prominent. Natch. The front bumper is already fairly aggressive too, for ultimate uberholt prestige.

The M5 has a front intake very similar to the current car, some big cross-drilled brake discs and, again, the quad exhausts. Expect more on both of these soon - we'll keep you posted!