Now that most of BMW’s M cars have enough power to neatly rip your face off, I suppose it’s also time for the automaker to consider how that power is made and put down. First, it gave the M5 all-wheel drive. Soon, there will be hybrid-powered M cars.
BMW’s head of engineering, Klaus Froehlich, confirmed the news to our own David Tracy today, who is currently in Germany attending BMW’s NEXTGen event. It won’t be long until the plug-in hybrid M cars arrive.
Froehlich said, “[In the] long term, beyond 2025, there will be possibility for [battery-electric vehicles]. [But] for me, power PHEV is the next step. Of course, that car will be between 1,600 to 1,700 kilograms, all-wheel drive, and 600 horsepower at least.”
I feel like that’s a very ambitious weight target, because it comes out to between 3,500 and 3,700 pounds.
Hybrid cars are generally heavier than their non-hybrid counterparts. And the current BMW M5 weighs in at a beefy 4,370 pounds. BMW thinks it can trim off hundreds of pounds while still maintaining current safety standards, keeping the all-wheel drive system and including whatever other onboard systems the future demands?
Of course, Froehlich didn’t say this was the projected weight target for the next M5. So it could be for the next M2 or something. Could be anything.
Considering how much fun I had driving the i8, I’m not too worried. BMW has proven itself to be good at making sporty hybrids and I have no doubt the upcoming hybrid M cars will be just as enjoyable.