New hints from BMW M Division make us believe that the future BMW M5 with all-wheel drive is finally coming to market. After years of back and forth articles on the M5 xDrive, latest reports bring up the case for an all-wheel drive vehicle to successfully compete against the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG and Audi RS5.
Speaking to Auto Motor und Sport, BMW M GmbH President Friedrich Nitschke said the current model is “suffering” and adding all-wheel drive on the next-generation M5 could be a “solution.” The M boss says that the vehicle was not signed-off on it and further consideration to the additional weight brought on by the xDrive system is needed.
However, Nitschke did confirm that the next generation M5 will shed some weight, just like the new M3/M4 have done compared to the predecessors. He declined to mention numbers but said he wants the weight savings to be “significantly higher” than the M4 coupe had over its predecessor. This suggests the next M5 will weigh at least 80 kg (176 lbs) less than the current model.
The next generation BMW M5 and M6 will most likely make extensive use of carbon fiber and aluminum, and are slotted to arrive, based on the 7-year production cycle, sometimes in 2018.
[Source: WCF]
