The Designer Of The New Mini Figured Out How To Make The BMW M5 Touring Look Way, Way, Way More Tasteful

With the Audi RS6 Avant entering purgatory and the Mercedes-AMG E 63 wagon having last been seen several years ago, there’s only one choice left if you want a new wagon with a big V8: The BMW M5 Touring. With 717 horsepower from its plug-in hybrid V8 powertrain, it’s quick but hefty, and has jowls to match its curb weight. While removing the equivalent mass of a medium-sized fishing hut would be difficult, how far would a little Botox and caffeine go? Thankfully, the minds behind Alpina and the design of the Ferrari F430 have joined forces to make this big wagon a little more tasteful. The Bovensiepen 05 GT is the result.

Wait a second, doesn’t BMW own Alpina now? Quite right, although that doesn’t mean the family that built the original company’s given up on new cars. Last year, Andreas and Florian Bovensiepen revealed both a new firm bearing the family name and a new car, the Bovensiepen Zagato. It’s a BMW M4-based coachbuilt grand tourer commanding serious exotic car money, something for connoisseurs of Bavarian machinery. So what happens when a similar treatment’s applied to the M5 Touring?

Well, it starts by taking the 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 plug-in-hybrid powertrain and raising the roof a touch. It now kicks out 790 combined horsepower and breathes through a revised induction system and an Akrapovič titanium exhaust. Torque’s up too, from 738 lb.-ft. to 811 lb.-ft. Considering the curb weight of this thing’s still greater than that of a crew cab EcoBoost F-150, a little extra shove seems like a sensible proposition. Bovensiepen’s claiming a zero-to-60 mph time of 3.6 seconds, and that’s plenty. At the same time, a handling package consisting of new top mounts and Eibach springs, retuned adaptive dampers, a bracing package and specially-developed tires promise to iron out the somewhat thumpy ride you’d find on an M5 Touring.

Sound stuff, but everyone’s talking about the styling of the Bovensiepen 05 GT and for good reason. The marque’s tapped the talents of Frank Stephenson’s design firm to reimagine this big wagon as less new-money. As design team lead Euan McPherson said, “The aim was to create something that has an immediate presence, without being too loud or aggressive.” So, did the team nail it?

Let’s start at the front, where arguably the biggest visual transformation happens. While the M5 has a glowering mug like it’s downed twelve pints of Carling and now looking to chin the first AMG that walks past, the 05 GT takes a vastly more refined approach. Because the flexible platform results in a lot of height, we can see some strong horizontal elements to balance that out. The framing of the lower grille and its wide center element is a prime example, but a character line running across the fascia does some lifting too. A small lip beneath the bumper and two little winglets in the lower grille balance out proportions, and a more regular set of kidney grilles is the cherry on top. The result is classier than even a base 5 Series, without seeming meek. Now that’s a down-the-road graphic to be proud of.

It’s a similar deal around the side. Lovely multi-spoke wheels share a general look with those found on the Bovensiepen Zagato and just come across as mega-crisp. Ten tuning forks, all gathered in a circle. Chiseled side skirts with thin black inserts beneath the doors carry a lot less visual weight than the skirts on the M5 Touring, and can we talk about the confidence required to unveil a big, expensive car in silver right now? What was once the de facto neutral has become a bit sleek and alternative thanks to an endless barrage of light non-metallic or dark metallic greys.

Moving to the back of the Bovensiepen 05 GT, there’s a lot to unpack but in a good way. You know how the rear bumper of the M5 Touring has that strange chunky trim and looks like it’s been stoved in on both corners? This is completely different, and required a rather different way of integrating the reflectors. On the 05 GT, they’re horizontally-oriented and hidden in a thin band of black trim that emphasizes visual width while breaking up the painted surface on the bumper cover. Narrow vertical vents are placed on each end of the trim strip, subtly tied together with a character line that echoes the one above the number plate on the front bumper. Down below the black trim piece, a slim diffuser frames four real exhaust tips, finishing off the valence without dominating it and completing a full skirting package that grounds the look of the car.

Of course, BMW’s iDrive 8.5 and color-lit interior trim make an appearance in the Bovensiepen 05 GT. Those things are difficult to change, but that doesn’t mean the interior’s unaltered. Yards of Lavalina leather feature on everything from the seats to the steering wheel to the iDrive controller, while milled aluminum paddle shifters look fabulously expensive. Best of all, the sky’s kind of the limit when it comes to stitched materials. Want the entire cargo area in a sueded material? No problem, so long as you have the budget.

All these revisions mean the Bovensiepen 05 GT won’t be cheap. It starts at €198,000, or about €50,800 more than a BMW M5 Touring. However, it’s also the strongest argument yet that the current crop of German performance cars doesn’t have to look the way they do. The 05 GT still meets cooling requirements and efficiency targets, yet it looks refined instead of ridiculous, crisp instead of overwrought. In short, designed by and for adults. As cars of this sort probably should be. If you need more convincing, check out the side-by-side comparison. Here’s the BMW M5 Touring:

And the Bovensiepen 05 GT:

Once again, the BMW M5 Touring:

And here’s the Bovensiepen 05 GT:

Yep. Much better.

Top graphic image: Bovensiepen