New BMW M5 Will Have 600 HP and All-Wheel Drive
The tire-shredding prowess from M5s of yore may or may not live on in the new model.
Up until now, details about the new BMW M5 have been relatively scarce, but Autocar has picked up new, exciting information about the sports sedan that, at least on paper, make the Bavarian barn stormer look promising, despite its new standard all-wheel drive system.
Starting with its engine, the G30 M5 will use a heavily reworked version of the 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 that's been in use since the last M5 and M6. This new model, though, will be pushing out a reported 600 hp, 40 hp more than the previous generation. The new M5 will also ditch the DCT gearbox the last M5 used for a ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic. According to Autocar, the new 'box will be able to be programmed five different ways.
A new version of BMW xDrive will also come standard, whose multi-plate wet clutch system can continuously split between between the front and rear axles. Lest BMW die-hards be disappointed, the German automaker has programmed the all-wheel drive system to decouple the front differential in M Dynamic Mode to unleash all 600 horsepower to only the rear wheels.
Speaking to Autocar, BMW senior vice president, Hildegard Wortmann, said, "You will see in this car where we will take the [M] brand from here. I’ve driven it on track and it’s really special. The engineers have done an excellent job. It’s outrageous."
