Despite the low-resolution quality of these new spy photos, we are quite excited to see the first FEP shots of the 2011 BMW 5 Series. For those of you not familiar with the term, FEP stands for Final Evaluation Phase which represents the last testing stage that a BMW prototype has to go through.

The FEP phase itself is broken down into sub-phases as the car progresses through the testing process. Judging by these new spy photos and based on the tentative launch date - March 2010 - we’re certain that by December, the new 5er will lose most, if not all, of its camouflage.

Looking at the two oval exhaust pipes, we can pretty much deduct that we’re indeed looking at the 2011 BMW 550i, a vehicle powered by the almighty powerful V8 twin-turbo engine found in the X6 50i or the 750i matted to the new ZF 8-Speed automatic transmission.

The headlights and taillights are still a bit of a mystery and the camouflage does its job very well hiding those last pieces from the puzzle. Based on some of the spy photos seen before, many people went ahead and speculated on the lights design, some even believe that some cues from the Coupe taillights might have been implemented.

The wheels on this test mule are the one thing that really stands out, great multi-spoke design, very dynamics and sporty, as it should be on the top 5 Series model.

With the risk of repeating ourselves, by early fall, an abundance of spy photos will make their way onto the web and we will be able to learn more about the new design.