The current BMW M5, based off of the recently replaced F10 chassis, was a bit controversial when it first came to market because too much added size, weight, and complication made it lose the simple, elegant, and well-rounded character that the E60 and its predecessors brought to the table. One thing that wasn't controversial? Its power output, which sat at an impressive 560 horsepower or 575 horses when spec'd with the Competition Package, the former of which made the rush from 0-60 mph in 4.0 seconds.

Though BMW has already revealed the G30 generation 5 Series, we have yet to see the new M5. However, that hasn't stopped the German automaker from giving us a taste of what's to come in the form of the M550i xDrive. While the M550i xDrive makes "only" 456 horsepower, 104 less than the base F10 M5, it can make the same 0-60 mph run in 3.9 seconds.

The gains in acceleration are made because of the all-wheel drive system, which effectively doubles the amount of contact patches where the grip from the low-end turbocharged torque can grab hold of, but what we want to know how well the car carries itself when not on the drag strip. BMW Blog did too for that matter, and as such it has borrowed one from BMW to review. This may not be the full M-bred 5 Series we're waiting for, but that doesn't stop it from being one hell of a ride.