Preparations for the next generation of the BMW 5 Series and its hardcore M5 sibling have begun, and the people from Bavaria don't want us to know much about the new cars. So far, all sightings of each car have seen the prototypes completely covered in extreme camouflage. That was the case a year ago when we first spotted development mules, and it's the case today.

BMW wants us to know so little that it has even plastered additional bodywork over parts of the 5 Series, which you can see in the images below (note the extra sheet metal on the hood). But you can also see something revealing in these images, specifically the new headlights and taillights.

These new images once again keep us wanting more in terms of clues for the design of the body and the styling direction we can expect, but at some point, BMW needs to test its new headlights and taillights. While past prototypes have seen the 5 Series wear ugly lights that do the bare minimum that is required of them, the time has now come to see what the production units will be like. Naturally, these continue to be clad in camo, but we can see the new graphics beneath all that nasty tape. This is the first time that we're getting a glimpse of the new headlights and taillights, and their overall shape appears to be in line with what digital artists have imagined.

Under the hood, we're expecting quite a few options. A normal combustion engine is possible, a plug-in hybrid is guaranteed, and an all-electric i5 is highly likely. As for performance figures, it's still too soon for us to have a good idea of what to expect. For reference, the current F90 generation tops out at 523 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque, thanks to a 4.4-liter turbocharged V8. The M5 variant has an M-fettled version of the same engine, peaking at 617 hp in the Competition model. With hybrid assistance coming to even this model, exceeding the capabilities of the current model should be child's play. Unfortunately, we're still a long way from a reveal and only expect to get any concrete information sometime in 2023.