BMW's M5 (F10) sedan. Screenshot via BimmerPost.
The closest BMW got to producing a police cruiser for American law enforcement officers was in March of 2010, when the German automaker agreed to supply clean-diesel engines for Carbon Motors' E7 patrol car.
The BMW Group would have supplied a 3.0-liter, 6-cylinder engine with cooling and exhaust gas systems and automatic transmissions for the E7, a project now clinging to life support after the company was denied a federal loan to help finance production.
Earlier this month, the automaker dropped a few jaws, when it showed off a concept M5 police vehicle in Europe that's based on the U.S. spec M5 (F10). The vehicle is only a show car at this time; however, BMW offers several models to European police departments—including the 3 series, 5 series, and X3—in its BMW Authority Vehicles line.
While BMW's 5 series (F10/F11) is available with a four- or six-cylinder engine, the F10 M5 would stack up with the top-performing patrol cars now offered by from Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors. The latest generation of M5, which was introduced in November 2011, arrives with a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8.
