Could the Next BMW M5 Be an 1,000-HP Electric Super Sedan?

BMW just took the wraps off the refreshed 2021 M5, but rumors are already swirling about what the next one will be powered by. BMW’s future, whether we like it or not, is going to be electric, and the company recently confirmed all-electric versions of the next 7-series and 5-series. But what about the king-of-the-hill M5? Unlike the normal 5-series, the M5 has never been powered by anything but a classic internal combustion engine—heck, the current M5 isn’t even hybridized. A recent report form Car Magazine, however, suggests that the next M5 may leapfrog hybridization altogether for an even more electrified state.

Car says the 2024 BMW M5 will be all-electric. BMW is alleged to already be testing what it calls a “powerBEV,” using a 5-series body to disguise the new battery electric powertrain configuration. The powerBEV will apparently underpin the next M5, and its reported power figures are just staggering: 1,000 horsepower.

In its most powerful guise, the powerBEV platform will apparently have three electric motors on board. Two 250-kW units will power the rear wheels and one 250-kW unit will power the front axle. A total of 750 kW translates to the 1,000-hp figure above. But it’s not just the horsepower that’s impressive. The report also suggests that the powerBEV platform will be able to go up to 435 miles on a single charge—albeit using the rather generous testing parameters of the European WLTP evaluation cycle.

We reached out to BMW to see if there was anything to this rumor. A spokesperson for the company told us there was, “no comment possible on speculation.” That makes sense given that the rumor, well, is only a rumor at this point. That said, we’ll need to wait to find out one way or the other—an all-new BMW M5, electric or not, isn’t expected to arrive until 2023 or so, in time for the 2024 model year.

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