The road to the 5 Series G60’s official reveal begins today. Premiering in a few months, the eighth generation of the luxury sedan is being previewed as the purely electric i5 ahead of a market launch scheduled to take place in October. BMW is also announcing a more practical i5 Touring will follow in spring 2024 as the only electric wagon in its segment.
These announcements were made by company chairman Oliver Zipse during the BMW Group Annual Conference 2023. He went on to mention the i5 will also receive an M Performance version, which is likely to be called the i5 M60 if our sources are accurate. As for the conventionally powered 5er, it’ll be available with an array of mild-hybrid gasoline and diesel engines as well as plug-in hybrid powertrains.
BMW reiterates the next-gen 5 Series will be the company’s first production model to utilize the Operating System 8.5 with the Curved Display. It’s essentially an evolution of the iDrive 8 installed in a variety of models, ranging from the 2 Series Coupe to the XM. The German premium brand is also rolling out iDrive 9 running on the Android Automotive OS, but that will be installed in the compact cars.
It’s too early for the Munich-based marque to talk about the M5, but prototypes have already been spotted undergoing testing. It is believed the range-topping version will be the only 5 Series to keep the V8 engine as the M550i will be retired. In its place, BMW is believed to be planning an M560e xDrive with an inline-six gasoline engine and an electric motor. As a refresher, the V12-powered M760i was indirectly replaced by an M760e.
Perhaps the biggest change to the 5 Series lineup will be represented by the return of the M5 Touring. Better yet, there are reports indicating BMW intends to sell the super wagon in North America to take on the Audi RS6 Avant. Expect both the M5 sedan (G90) and estate (G99) to arrive around 2025 with a little over 700 horsepower.
Source: BMW
