BMW M boss hints again at future BMW M5 all wheel drive

BMW M GmbH President Friedrich Nitschke hints from an interview with Auto Motor und Sport that the future BMW M5 with all-wheel drive is finally coming to market. The rumors have died and revived a couple of times in the past years but this recent information puts the M5 xDrive as a successful competitor against the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG and Audi RS5.

Nitschke said in the interview that 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.

He also confirmed that the next generation M5 will be a lot lighter and did not mention numbers and just described 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 likely use a lot of carbon fiber and aluminum. Based on the 7-year production cycle, the vehicle may launch in 2018.

Source: World Car Fans