Next Alpina B5 Touring spy shots

There probably won't be another M5 Touring, so how about the Alpina alternative?

Well this is good timing. Just as BMW announces the current M5's £100K swansong, our trusty spy photographers capture a fast version of the next 5 Series.

Will those rears be on fire? Or is it 4WD?

An M5? No, actually, as this appears to be Alpina's take on a performance BMW exec. See the Alpina wheels (on the back at least) and a couple of other subtle enhancements at the front. There are four exhausts too, hinting at the performance. More generally, we can see that the next 5 Series will borrow from the current 7 Series in its appearance from the front and, pleasingly, it still retains conventional estate form. Perhaps a sleeker 6 Series derived estate will arrive in time to rival cars like the CLS Shooting Brake.

Anyway, this car was spotted at the Nurburgring, so what sort of performance can we expect? It's going to be turbocharged, of course, but how much more power it will have over the old 540hp B5 remains to be seen. Remember the Edition 50 special made 600hp... With the next M5 expected to be four-wheel drive, it will interesting to see the approach Alpina takes with the B5.

There shouldn't be too long to wait either. Our sources are suggesting this new B5 could be at Geneva in 2017, following a debut for the regular 5 Series later this year. The Alpina models typically are introduced before their M equivalents, as happened with the B3 and M3. Furthermore, it seems very unlikely that there will be an M5 Touring, so this is the car if you don't fancy an RS6 or the next E63. Finally, if you really can't wait, this Edition 50 B5 is for sale on PH right now. Not a Touring, but rather lovely nonetheless.