An all-new BMW 5 Series has arrived for the first time in seven years, topped by a new M550i xDrive performance flagship with a blistering 4.0-second 0-100km/h sprint time.
Blissfully, eight-cylinder grunt isn’t dead: the 4.4-litre turbocharged petrol V8 engine makes 340kW at 5500rpm and 650Nm from 1800rpm, and together with an eight-speed automatic it cuts down the outgoing 412kW/680Nm M5 Pure’s sprint time by three tenths.

“We are a performance market and we would love to see that vehicle in Australia, the engine, the configuration, the all-wheel drive I think it looks sensational,” BMW Australia communications general manager Lenore Fletcher told MOTOR.

Up to 20-inch alloy wheels are available, working around a “lighter and stiffer” multi-link front and rear suspension setup. Being BMW, though, there are plenty of options.

For the first time the xDrive system can also work with what BMW dubs Integral Active Steering, essentially a variable-ratio four-wheel-steer designed to increase stability at higher cornering speeds and allow the larger sedan to feel more nimble in tight, low-speed bends.

If the BMW M550i xDrive makes it to Australia, expect a pricetag of around $170K in order to compete with the slower and older Audi S6 and Mercedes-AMG E43.