BMW’s Next X5 Leaked Two Days Early, And The Split Tailgate Is Gone

Photos of the next-generation BMW X5 (G65) hit Instagram two days before BMW was set to pull the cover off the car itself. But for most of us, this is nothing new. The car already leaked back in March, though some of those early photos were ambiguous enough that it wasn’t clear if they were real or AI-generated. The model leaked is iX5 60, the electric range-topper, caught in full production trim from the front, side, and rear.

A face Borrowed From The iX3, With One New Trick

The front end is close enough to the iX3 that you could mistake the two from far away. The kidney grille looks slightly different, both in height and width. What truly sets the X5 apart is the daytime running light graphic: the photos show a stylized X pattern worked into the lighting signature, which gives the X5 its own identity for both day and night running lights instead of just inheriting the iX3’s look wholesale. The lower fascia leans aggressive, with the kind of deep, sculpted air intakes and blacked-out trim that signal an M Sport-style treatment rather than a base car.

Flared Fenders And Door Handles From A Six-Figure Roadster

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In profile, the wheel arches are pushed out hard enough that the fender flares read as a styling statement on their own, not just a way to fit bigger tires. The bigger story is the door handles. They sit low, just under the window line, in the same winglet shape BMW previously reserved for the Speedtop and Skytop, two ultra-low-volume specialty builds. Putting that design on a mainstream SUV that will sell in real numbers is a bigger deal than it looks. It also shows how BMW is thinking: some design elements, even from highly-exclusive models, do eventually end up on the more affordable models.

We’ve Said It Before: The Tailgate Is Gone!

At the rear, the family resemblance to the iX3 continues with a light bar that runs nearly the full width of the car, broken only by the BMW roundel in the middle. The graphic itself is different enough, and the bumper and lower skirting are shaped differently enough, that nobody who knows what they’re looking at will confuse an X5 for an iX3 in a parking lot. The X5 seems also larger than the outgoing G05 X5, but we will find out on Tuesday by how much.

First-Ever Electric X5

The iX5 60 xDrive is the G65 in its most extreme form. It uses BMW’s sixth-generation eDrive technology on an 800V architecture — the voltage level that allows faster charging and more efficient power delivery — with cylindrical battery cells, the format that Tesla has used for years and that most of the industry has now adopted. The battery is 144 kWh usable in the US (141 kWh in Europe), which BMW confirms is the largest high-voltage pack it has put in any production model. Two motors produce a combined 425 kW — 578 horsepower — and xDrive all-wheel drive is standard.

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It is also, by a considerable margin, the heaviest X5 ever built. The weight difference between the lightest G65 and the iX5 is approximately 600 kilograms — more than 1,300 pounds. The iX5 comes with air suspension, electronically controlled adaptive dampers, active rear steering, and active roll stabilization as standard.

There will be more variants, and further details about each model, revealed on Tuesday, so stay tuned for a full coverage on BMWBLOG and on our Youtube channel! In the meantime, you can see our exclusive test drive of the 2027 BMW X5 prototype right below.

[The top image is an older render we’ve made]