What The 2025 BMW M5 Can Learn From The Best M5 Ever Made

The next-generation BMW M5’s specifications leaked online last week, and we’re a bit concerned. While we’re impressed with the power output, there’s one figure that’s causing outrage on the internet. According to the leak, the G90 BMW M5 will weigh 5,368 pounds.

That figure needs to be put in perspective for our non-American readers, but people in the USA will enjoy these comparisons, too. The 2023 F90 BMW M5 tipped the scales at 4,345 lbs, which means the new car is roughly 1,000 pounds heavier. It’s also heavier than the largest gas-powered sedan the German automaker builds, the BMW 760i. It’s so heavy that a base-spec BMW X7 weighs less than 50 lbs more. The BMW X5 M weighs less than 100 lbs more. Basically, the new M5 is not getting on the top 10 list of the lightest cars you can buy in America.

The reason behind the added fatness is its new powertrain setup. The next-generation M5 will be a plug-in hybrid, which seems like the perfect guilt-free solution for those wanting the ultimate performance sedan.

According to the leak, the upcoming M5 and M5 Touring (wagon) will be equipped with the existing 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8, producing 577 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque. It will be helped by an electric motor that produces 194 hp and 206 lb-ft of torque, resulting in a combined power output of 718 horses.

The power produced by that electric motor needs to be available as much as possible, which is why the M5 will carry an 18.6 kWh battery. Essentially, you’re looking at a BMW XM powertrain shoehorned into a sedan. The XM remains the most potent M car in the range. Still, BMW needs to reserve some power for the inevitable lifecycle impulse (facelift) and limited edition models.

Thanks to that electric motor filling the torque gaps, we have no doubt this will be the quickest M5 ever made. But we’re not so sure that’s what people are looking for in an M5.

I remember the first time I smashed the throttle in the F10 M5, which also used the twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8. It was a gnarly car, sending 553 hp and 502 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. You walked away from that car, wondering how long the German horsepower war could possibly continue without the two main rivals making Audi-like changes. Mercedes-Benz was the first to cave, offering 4Matic all-wheel drive as an option on the W212 E 63 AMG from 2013 to 2016.

For the W213, Mercedes-AMG developed a more advanced AWD system with a Drift Mode, which effectively disengaged the front axle and sent 600 horses and 627 lb-ft to the rear wheels. The year after, BMW caved, too. The F90 M5 was launched with a similar AWD system, and we were concerned. Would it ruin the character of the M5?

As it turns out, the answer was no. The F90 did not feel AWD. It set a Guinness World Record for the longest continuous drift to prove it could still hang its tail out with the best.

So, the AWD system is not a concern. But the weight is a massive concern because despite having AWD as standard, the F90 was actually 88 lbs lighter than the F10. The F10 was 198 lbs heavier than the famous V10 M5, which was the first model to breach 4,000 lbs.

That brings us neatly to the doorstep of the greatest M5 of all time. Some may disagree, but the vast majority of gearheads will agree that E39 was peak M5. For the record, it weighed 3,957 lbs. Yep, just three pounds below the magical 4,000-pound figure.

We crunched the numbers, and the upcoming M5 weighs 1,411 lbs more than the E39. Once again, for perspective, you’d have to strap an Ariel Atom 4 with one passenger on the roof of the E39 M5 to match the curb weight of the new model.

The upcoming BMW M5 seems to be caught up in the horsepower war, which is something Bimmer has never really done before. For proof, look back at the E39’s main rivals. Its naturally aspirated 5.0-liter S62 V8 produced 400 hp and 369 lb-ft, good enough for a 0 to 60 mph sprint in 4.8 seconds. Its main rivals used forced induction to win the war. Audi hit first with the twin-turbo 4.2-liter V8 C5 RS6, and Mercedes-Benz went ballistic with the E55 AMG, which used a 469-hp supercharged V8.

All three cars are remembered fondly, but if you asked any gearhead which one he could get for free, it would be the BMW. It just would. Even the people claiming they’d have the Audi or the Merc in the comments section are lying.

Why? Because BMW kept the E39 remarkably simple. It had that 5.0 liter V8 up front mated to a six-speed manual gearbox, which was already a unique selling point at the time. The power went to the rear axle, equipped with a limited-slip differential. In the middle, it was a normal, luxurious E39 5 Series, which remained a segment leader until BMW retired it in 2003.

Apart from everything we mentioned above, the E39 was the perfect size and weight. We already covered weight, but let’s look at how the older M5 stacks up against the new 5 Series. For apparent reasons, we don’t have specific dimensions for the new M5, but it will likely be wider and lower than the standard car. The standard 5 Series is not just bigger than the old one; it’s actually bigger than the E38 7 Series, which is the best 7s ever made.

Want to hear the most shocking size-related fact of all? The E39 M5 is smaller than the current BMW M3…

We get why cars are swelling and why every generation needs more power. If a vehicle isn’t bigger and doesn’t have more power, customers feel short-changed. But here’s the E39, proving that more isn’t always better.

BMW rarely gets M models wrong, but it made a big mess with the XM. We spent a week with the XM, and the nicest thing we can say about it is that it has an extremely luxurious interior and a decent all-electric range. There’s something extremely despondent about that. “What I really love about my M car is its all-electric range,” said no M car owner ever.

We’re not going to call the new M5 a fail because nobody’s driven it yet. There are ways to get a car with a high curb weight to feel nimble. Examples include systems like rear-wheel steering, torque vectoring, adaptive suspension, etc. The G90 M5 might even usurp the E39 as the best M5 ever. Who knows? We can’t say for sure.

But the main point I’m trying to make is that BMW M is at its absolute best when it keeps it simple. Examples include the E46 M3, the E90 M3 (with a manual gearbox), the Z3 M Coupe (Clownshoe), and the 1 Series M Coupe.

Should BMW have kept it simpler with the new M5? Only time will tell, but we’d love to hear your thoughts on the topic.