It isn’t difficult to get a basic idea of what the G90 BMW M5 will look like. Just take a look at any of the revealing 5 Series spy photos we’ve shown you over the past year, add some aggressive air intakes, chuck on some M-style mirrors, give it bigger wheels, and flare out the fenders and you’ve got an M5. But that doesn’t mean we’ll know exactly what the next-gen M5 will look like, so seeing render like this one piques our interest. If the G90 M5 looks like this, how will you feel?

Any BMW that doesn’t have a beaver-tooth grille is a win in my book but if the next-gen M5 looks like this render, I think we’d all breath a sigh of relief. This render was clearly designed after the myriad of spy photos that have been circulating for months and it mostly looks really good. Its kidney grilles are properly sized, its headlights are normal BMW headlights, it has nice looking front air intakes, and a cool taillight bar. I don’t universally love it but I’ll take this design over any of the strange new BMW designs without blinking.

Judging by both recent spy photos and this render, it looks like the BMW M5 might be getting even sleeker and less muscular than the current car. However, that might not be such a bad thing, as the new M5 will be the most unique M5 in history, given its hybrid powertrain. So its sleeker, simpler design might fit the car better.

When the new M5 debuts, it’s going to pack the same hybrid powertrain as the BMW XM, a 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged “S68” V8 paired with an electric motor. In the XM, it makes 644 horsepower, so we’re assuming something similar—if not exactly the same—for the M5. Although, the BMW M5 does deserve more power than the XM. Sure, the XM is more expensive and it’s BMW’s little (big) darling project at the moment but the XM is a newbie, a rookie, and it’s unproven. The M5 is a legend, the first mass-production M car, and the car that invented the super sedan segment. It deserves more power than the rookie.

I can’t wait for this new M5. Sure, there are concerns: it’s going to be immensely heavy due to its hybrid powertrain and it might lack a bit of character. However, it’s going to be an absolute performance monster. So it will be incredibly interesting to see what BMW M does with a hybrid M5 for the first time. And if it looks like this, it should be pretty easy on the eyes, too.

[Source: Sugar Design]