Next-gen BMW M5 will arrive as a performance hybrid

- The plug-in hybrid EV could get a V8 petrol engine and two electric motors that produce 750bhp and 1,000Nm of torque.  

- At least Level 2 autonomous driving with hands-free highway driving and hands-free parking functions could also be available.  

After BMW released the mid-life facelift for the current-gen M5 in 2020, it started developing the next-generation M5 super sedan and we have seen plenty of prototypes being tested in heavy camouflage. Today, our spies in Munich got another set of pictures of the most powerful 5 Series, but this time the test car wears the full production body with the production lamp units at the front and rear as well as the wide wheel arches to house the large wheels.  

It wears the “electrified vehicle” sticker which confirms the announcement of Markus Flasch, CEO of BMW M, who stated in 2021 that the next-gen BMW M5 will be available as a hybrid electric car. According to a report which the British magazine CAR published, the next-gen M5 will arrive in 2024, a year after the next-gen 5 Series (G60). The plug-in hybrid EV could get a V8 petrol engine and two electric motors that produce 750bhp and 1,000Nm of torque.  Releasing a fully electric BMW i5M model might not be possible at this point because it would need a significantly more advanced battery technology, one that BMW would get access to in 2025 with the Die Neue Klasse cluster architecture. Batteries would have to get lighter for BMW to offer similar dynamic performance. 

Until then, BMW M will work on PHEVs and fettling variants of existing EVs like the iX M60. The next-gen M5 could pack BMW Group’s latest tech features like BMW Curved Display (seamlessly integrated fully digital instrument cluster and central display), iDrive 8.0, BMW Digital Key Plus with Ultra-Wideband technology (Digital Key 3.0). At least Level 2 autonomous driving with hands-free highway driving and hands-free parking functions could also be available in the all-new vehicle.