2025 BMW M5 is a 535kW Turbo V8 Hybrid Bavarian Beast

27/06/2024

While anyone with a pulse on car culture has seen this coming, the new BMW M5 is officially here and will launch in Australia in Q4 this year. We don’t know the price just yet, but we do know that it’ll use the BMW M Hybrid racecar’s 4.4-litre M TwinPower Turbo V8 first seen in the BMW XM. Here, it’ll produce 535kW (727hp) and 1000Nm which is a hair less than the flagship 550kW BMW XM Label Red that we tested earlier this year, but 75kW and 250Nm more than the outgoing model.

Rather interestingly, the new BMW M5 is slower than the BMW M5 Competition it replaces, completing the sprint from 0 to 100km/h in 3.5 seconds before going on to a top speed of 305km/h with the M Driver’s Package fitted as standard in Australia. That’s 0.2 seconds slower than the outgoing model, despite the significant power advantage, and you can thank an increase in weight for that figure. The new BMW M5 weighs the best part of 2.5 tonnes with a human inside or precisely 2,435kg (+540kg) without one.

It’s hard to blame the brand’s M Division for that weight figure, however, as they likely had no real choice. Strict European emission standards force brands to add heavy batteries and electric motors to their cars, substantially increasing weight. How that will affect the driving experience will be determined once we have the chance to drive the car before the end of this year, but we have more than enough faith in the M wizards.

2025 bmw m5 is a 535kw turbo v8 hybrid bavarian beast

2025 BMW M5 | Image: BMW

The best way to manage this weight is through trick suspension, which, according to the brand, consists of a double-wishbone front axle and a five-link rear axle with “bespoke kinematics and elastokinematics.” Like the BMW i5 M60, it has an adaptive M suspension system with electronically controlled dampers.

In fact, there are more similarities with the M5’s electric stablemate than we expected. That’s especially true inside the cabin where technology has taken a major step up over the previous model. You get the latest version of BMW iDrive: Operating System 8.5, a newly designed flat-bottomed steering wheel, Merino leather trim, BMW Interaction Bar and ambient lighting with M-specific interior lighting that includes a Welcome and Goodbye Animation we first saw in the BMW i5 M60. At face value, it looks almost identical.

2025 BMW M5 | Image: BMW

The centre console gains similar buttons to those in the BMW XM: ‘Setup’ that enables configuration of the drive system, Drivelogic (transmission), chassis, steering, braking and M xDrive. You can also toggle through the various M HYBRID modes, including the all-electric mode.

The new BMW M5 uses an 18.6kWh battery for an electric-only driving range between 67 and 69 kilometres on the WLTP testing cycle. It can be driven in all-electric mode up to a top speed of 140km/h.

Production for the new BMW M5 will begin in July at the BMW Group Plant Dingolfing—where all previous six generations of BMW M5s have been built. In the same month, you can catch a glimpse of the vehicle at the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed. Australian-specific pricing will be announced in July 2024 before customer deliveries begin in November.

Check out the New BMW M5

2025 BMW M5 | Image: BMW

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