Next BMW M5 Could Come to America as a 735-HP Plug-In-Hybrid Wagon
A new generation of the BMW M5 is on the way, codenamed G90.It will share its plug-in-hybrid powertrain with the BMW XM SUV.A wagon version of the M5 is under consideration for America.
A new generation of the BMW 5-series is on the way and wears the codename G60. But the most exciting news will come in July 2024, when the M division will launch the new M5. Dubbed G90, the top-of-the-line model will only be available in Label Red high-performance guise rated at 735 horsepower and 735 pound-feet of torque. You guessed it—the next M5 shares its plug-in-hybrid drivetrain with the polarizing XM SUV out this summer. While it will be offered as a sedan once again, we hear that the M5 Touring station wagon (G99), due to go into production in late 2024, is at long last considered for exportation to North America.
The new M5 should sport an electric range of close to 60 miles and a maximum speed of 87 mph in EV mode, sources say. On the debit side, it carries a weight penalty of over 440 pounds compared to the outgoing M5. While the extra grunt is said to cut the 60 mph acceleration time by a few ticks (we already managed a blisteringly quick 2.8 seconds in the current M5 Competition), it remains to be seen which effect—if any—the extra body fat has on the best-in-class handling.
BMW M5 sedan
Illustration by Christian Schulte|Car and Driver
According to those in the know, the next M5 remains loyal to the classic steel suspension, but introduces rear-wheel steering, bigger brakes, and optional 22-inch wheels. Drivers can choose between three energy regeneration stages, two calibrations for the steering and brakes, and five different drive modes including eControl, which prioritizes the electric motor. The 644-hp unit fitted to the “base” XM will not be offered in the new M5. If anything, there might be an even brawnier Label Black high-flyer which would mate the 627-hp V-8 of the defunct M5 CS to a bigger electric motor.
Electric BMW i5 M Could Have More Than 1000 HP
What about an i5 M, you ask? The electric i5 range will likely compromise these three models: i5 eDrive40 and xDrive40 (340 hp), i5 M50 xDrive (544 hp) and i5 M70 xDrive (650 hp). The M70 is not only the most potent version, it can allegedly also be charged faster, is equipped with special high-performance batteries, gets active steering, bigger 21-inch wheels and suspension tweaks, plus the usual M livery inside and out, but is still not yet a fully fledged hardcore M car.
This role belongs to the i5 M, which won’t bow before 2026 as a widebody four-door, four-motor 1136-hp crackerjack due to follow hot on the heels of the 1000-hp all-electric M4 replacement. Codenamed Katharina, the new high-performance electric drivetrain boasts ultrafast wheel-by-wheel torque vectoring, multi-stage cooling, a supplementary brake-by-motor energy regeneration system and new dynamic features like piloted drifting and the ability to perform tank turns. Key to the new talent level is a complex advanced control unit known internally as “Hand of God.”
Whether this DNA will eventually also spawn the rumored new BMW M supercar is still open to debate—talks with McLaren on the subject have reportedly reached a cul-de-sac.
