I’m definitely not an automotive engineer, but I do know that a car’s back tires can only take so much horsepower. The BMW M5’s rear rubber is no exception.
Right now, the 4,300+-pound, rear-wheel-drive super sedan cranks out 560 horsepower. What about the next generation of it, though? It’s supposed to weigh almost 400 pounds less and generate 40 more horsepower. When BMW M CEO Franciscus van Meel was asked whether or not the future M5 will send its 600 horsepower through all-wheel drive, he said, “If we continue the power increases in the future… then probably the next generation M5 and M6 will have so much torque and power that we need to think about those solutions.”
True, that would be out of character for a car that’s always been RWD, but it wouldn’t be the first time BMW changed its E63-fighter in a big way. The automaker finally embraced the idea of a turbocharged M5 with this current iteration.
If you’re getting upset by this news, you should also know that Car says AWD will be an option. Autoblog reports it will be rear-biased.
What do you all think? Would you buy an all-wheel-drive M5?
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
