When spy photos of the next-generation BMW M5 surfaced recently, they gave us an intent what the new super sedan would look like, but didn't give any indications what was under the hood. The current 5.0-liter V10 is a bit of an oddball within the lineup so something a little more mainstream was expected.

To us, the most logical powerplant was BMW's new turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 that debuted in the X5M and X6M. It develops 555 horsepower and 500 pound feet of torque, more than enough to make the M5 a contender in the high-end super sedan category.

Sure enough, when we posed the question to BMW insiders they confirmed that the next M5 would have a turbocharged V8. They wouldn't give us any more detail than that, but it's innocuous to say that the 4.4-liter is the logical choice.

We dug for additional information on other potential Motorsport vehicles, but came up empty. Our sources squashed any hope for a Motorsport version of the 1 Series and when we suggested a high-powered variation of the upcoming 2011 3 Series GT they said that's not probably not happening either. Turns out income of the M3 sedan have been miserable, so the company will most likely stick with couples only when it comes to Motorsport-tuned 3 Series models.