BMW X5 Spy Shots, Revisited: Small Grille, No Door Handles, and an iX5 at $79,800
In July 2024 camouflaged prototypes hinted at a Neue Klasse-style X5. BMW revealed it on June 30, 2026, with gas, plug-in and electric versions from $69,800.
Contents · 4 parts
In July 2024 we wrote about camouflaged prototypes of the next BMW X5 and its first electric twin, the iX5. Two years later the car is real: BMW revealed the fifth-generation X5 on June 30, 2026, at Plant Spartanburg in South Carolina, where the X5 has been built since 1999.
The 2024 story
The prototypes showed a much smaller kidney grille, sharper headlights in the style of the Neue Klasse concepts, flush door handles and a rear spoiler. BMW was expected to offer gas, hybrid and fully electric versions, with a hydrogen model to follow its iX5 Hydrogen pilot fleet.
What happened next
Most of that came true. The new X5 has slim kidney grilles and an X-shaped lighting graphic, and the door handles are gone altogether. Underneath, it is not a Neue Klasse car: BMW kept a reworked version of its CLAR platform for every powertrain, including the electric one.
According to BMW of North America, the X5 40 xDrive with a 394-hp mild-hybrid six goes on sale in October 2026. The rear-drive X5 40, the X5 50e xDrive plug-in hybrid with 483 hp and the iX5 60 xDrive with 570 hp follow in the first quarter of 2027. BMW's preliminary range estimate for the iX5 is 435 miles. A V8 M Performance model comes later in 2027, and the iX5 Hydrogen at a later stage.
2024 vs 2026
| 2024 spy shots | 2026 production car | |
|---|---|---|
| Grille | Much smaller kidneys | Slim kidneys, X-shaped lights |
| Door handles | Flush | None, electric release |
| Platform | Neue Klasse expected | Reworked CLAR |
| Powertrains | Gas, hybrid, EV, hydrogen later | Gas, plug-in, EV; hydrogen later |
| U.S. prices | Not known | $69,800 to $79,800, plus $1,450 |
Our read
The spy shots got the look right and the engineering wrong. BMW gave the X5 the Neue Klasse face but not its architecture, which lets it build every version, from gas to electric, on one platform. The $79,800 iX5 sits just $2,300 above the plug-in hybrid, a gap small enough to make the electric X5 the default choice for many buyers.
