BMW M5 (2024): Hybrid system alone weighs more than 400 kilos

Was there no alternative but to integrate almost half a Twingo into the high-performer?

2025 BMW M5

By: Benja Hiller

Published by: Brian Potter

Jul 1, 2024 at 5:07am ET

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The new BMW M5 is finally here and the rumours are already flying. Shortly after the launch, not only did Google searches for the new model skyrocket, but a short time later there was another, even more extreme spike in the trends: the weight.

Why is the new BMW M5 so heavy? At 2,435 kilograms, a whole 500 kilos more than its predecessor. According to BMW M boss Frank van Meel, the majority of the additional weight comes exclusively from the hybrid system. In an interview with Top Gear, van Meel argued in favour of a pure plug-in hybrid system instead of a converntional system, despite the weight loss.

"For us, it makes sense to go all the way and take full advantage [of electrification] instead of taking steps backwards," van Meel told Top Gear. "Yes, the [PHEV] system adds 400kg, but a normal hybrid system already weighs 150-200kg more."

Gallery: 2025 BMW M5

2025 BMW M5

The weight of the M5 G90 is also the subject of heated debate on social media. On "X", user Graham Smales even makes an illustrious comparison: "Unbelievable, the E28 BMW M5 is almost a tonne lighter than the very latest incarnation. That's equivalent to the extra weight of a 2 Series Golf GTI. Is that progress?" Weight comparisons with US pick-up trucks such as the Ford F-150 or car spec duels against Tesla's Model S also emerged.

However, weight is not just weight, the centre of gravity of a vehicle, for example, is much more important. And vehicles from the 1980s are difficult to compare with today's safety and technology standards anyway.

Van Meel continues, "We have written down the effects of weight and worked out where we need to be in order to have a different performance window. In racing, weight is added to the bottom of the vehicle to equalise the 'ballance of performance'. That's where we put our 'ballast'." The battery in the floor thus ensures a lower centre of gravity than the previous M5 can boast.

2025 BMW M5

Without the hybrid technology, the new M5 would weigh around 400 kilograms less. This is still a heavy lump, but closer to the level of any competitors. With the mild hybrid system, the car might have weighed in at around 2,200 kilograms. Not an option?

"We couldn't make a convincing proposal [without a plug-in hybrid system]," van Meel continued in an interview with Top Gear. "Yes, it is possible to integrate a boost function, but a plug-in hybrid delivers continuous electric power and energy. So you have more than just a boost function, and it's a bigger step, because we have electric range and 200 PS more. That's much more convincing".

And what a switch to four cylinders would entail could already be observed in advance with the conversion of the Mercedes AMG C 63. When asked about this, van Meel told Top Gear that his team had briefly considered an in-line six-cylinder engine in order to save weight. In the end, they decided in favour of the distinctive V8 again.

"It would be madness to use a four-cylinder engine," says van Meel. "The next thing would be a six-cylinder which would result in a very long front end, and we need a big gearbox to handle the 1,000 Nm. So the V8 is the best solution because it is an emotional engine, but also compact."

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And now please note for a moment, van Meel says that BMW is also thinking about finally equipping the M5 with all-electric power. Well, are you still sitting or have you already tilted over backwards? According to Top Gear, however, this idea has been rejected. Can anyone even begin to imagine what would have happened then? The internet would probably have had to be switched off completely for the time being. Internet blackout because of an M5 - what a headline!

However, according to van Meel, the current technology cannot offer the sustained performance and sufficient range that buyers expect from an M5, so BMW decided against it. We'll talk again in a few years, because ironically, an all-electric M5 would probably have been even lighter. Social knock-out!

Source: Top Gear

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