Brace Yourself: M Performance Parts Have Arrived For The BMW M5 Touring

Right, let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way: despite largely being made from carbon fibre, a material known for weighing about as much as a politician’s promise, the new M Performance Parts for the 2560kg BMW M5 Touring are not going to transform it into some Alpine A110-style flyweight. Sorry to disappoint.

No, they’re more for the person who finds that their swollen-haunched, 717bhp plug-in hybrid estate car is a bit… subtle. And in fairness, next to the beaver-toothed M3 and elephantine XM, the new M5 is the most restrained an M car’s been in a while (although that’s all relative).

Unsurprisingly, many of the add-ons are the same as the ones we saw for the M5 saloon a couple of months ago, including that distinctive two-piece front splitter, side skirts and rear diffuser – all carbon fibre, of course. Those Frozen Black side decals are the same, too, and so are the carbon fibre/titanium blend exhaust tips.

What can’t be changed, unlike on the saloon, is the rear spoiler, with the M5 Touring already getting a sizeable carbon fibre item from the factory.

Again, you can replace various exterior bits with carbon fibre versions, including the door mirror caps and fuel filler cap, while the shark fin roof antenna can be optioned in aramid, a similar woven synthetic fibre that offers better electromagnetic properties – in other words, it won’t knacker your radio signal.

Changes are less far-reaching on the inside, with a set of floor mats bearing the M Division’s signature blue, indigo and red colours. You can also get a leather and Alcantara cover for your key fob. Neat.

Perhaps the most baffling inclusion is the tyre bags, which, BMW hinted when they were showcased for the saloon, are ideal if you’re swapping rubber around for a track day. That’s despite BMW recently saying that “a very small percentage” of M5 owners actually track their cars, and most only do it once – and we imagine that figure will be even lower for the Touring. Still, handy if you’ve got a set of winter tyres, we suppose.