[Preview] 2012 BMW M5 Concept [picture - video]

In a move that certainly won’t leave BMW officials happy, pictures of the 2012 M5 Concept from a preview event held in Germany prior to the car’s world premiere at the Shanghai Auto Show in China later this month, leaked onto the internet.

As with most BMW concepts of the sort, the new M5 study is 99 per cent production ready, so don’t expect to see anything different when the sports saloon make its premiere in production guise later this year, possibly at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

The new M5 is based on the latest F10 5-Series saloon and is powered by a modified version of the same twin-turbocharged V8 engine found on the X5 M and X6 M. The V8 is believed to be lighter, more powerful and greener than the 507HP 5.0-liter V10 lump it replaces. No specific numbers have been released, but rumor has it that output will be close to 600-horsepower.

The leaked pictures reveal the rather conservative styling changes over the standard F10 5-Series, which include bespoke front and rear bumpers, side air vents, four tail pipes and the five-spoke M alloy wheels.

Expect more information and perhaps even new photos to come out shortly.

Video 2011 BMW M5 Concept (HD)