{"id":82418,"date":"2025-05-15T12:03:36","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T16:03:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=82418"},"modified":"2025-05-15T12:03:36","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T16:03:36","slug":"mild-hybrid-bmw-m5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=82418","title":{"rendered":"The Case For a Mild Hybrid BMW M5"},"content":{"rendered":"

The current M5 is a plug-in hybrid<\/a>. It isn\u2019t the first BMW M car to hybridize; it probably won\u2019t be the last. Defenders of the hybrid super sled will point at its truly colossal 717 horsepower. They\u2019ll tout its eminently practical 25-mile electric range (40 miles in our own test<\/a>). They\u2019ll say it\u2019s quick as hell, and more comfortable around town than the last M5, too. And all of that would be true. But there\u2019s also a number of asterisks pockmarking those accolades. For one, it\u2019s 1,000 pounds heavier than the previous one, reducing braking effectiveness and overall nimbleness. And, while quick, it is demonstrably less<\/em> quick than the F90 M5 that preceded it.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no doubt that the G90 M5 is an exceptional vehicle. It\u2019s hard, perhaps impossible, to debate that. But we can\u2019t help but feel that BMW might have left a little bit on the table with this generation. Perhaps missing an excellent opportunity \u2014 the chance to build on the F90 M5\u2019s true brilliance<\/a>. It was a nearly impossible act to follow made doubly impossible by a world of tightening emissions restrictions. But there was one road forward that could\u2019ve gotten us the best of all worlds: a mild hybrid M5.<\/p>\n

The Mild Hybrid M5 We Want Can Replace the Hybrid M5 BMW Loves<\/h3>\n

Wondering how a new version of the M5<\/a> might be able to drop some weight without losing a lot of what makes an M5 an M5? We present: the S68 V8 engine<\/a>. BMW already uses it in the G90 M5, but it shows up in a lot of other places, too. For example, the M60i trim lines of the X5 and X7. There, it acts only as a mild hybrid; no plugging-in required. It\u2019s also Euro 7 compliant, making it relatively future proof.<\/p>\n

As far as simple and \u2014 dare we say it \u2014 no-brainer fixes go, we think this is a bit of a slam dunk. We\u2019re oversimplifying, but yanking the big bad batteries out of the M5 seems fairly trivial compared to designing a car from scratch to accommodate a new powertrain. Losing the batteries would cost the car a bit of power \u2014 but we don\u2019t think M5 drivers will mind, because it will also contribute to a significant amount of weight loss. We believe that by dropping the large battery pack, BMW could easily drop 300 to 400 kilograms. Since the S68 utilizes 48-volt mild hybrid tech, it would still churn out mid-600s horsepower or so. Which, we contend, would satisfy any M5 buyer.<\/p>\n

A mild hybrid M5 is also still different enough \u2014 in styling, powertrain, and interior tech \u2014 from the F90 M5 it replaced that it could still be considered an evolution \u2014 not a step back. The G90 M5 could still be marketed as the \u201cfirst-ever hybrid M5,\u201d (it would be) and would still have the \u201cedge\u201d in screen real estate and tech. It also has rear-wheel steering, a trick the F90 M5 never got. The mild hybrid M5, therefore, would still represent forward motion, avoiding any possible \u201cegg on face\u201d scenario.<\/p>\n

The Mild Hybrid M5: Lighter and Nimbler\u2026But Could it Happen?<\/h3>\n

Ultimately, a mild hybrid M5 ends up less powerful but less cumbersome than the current plug-in version. While the G90 is no doubt impressive \u2014 even on the track \u2014 we think most M5 drivers would be okay with lower power and lower weight. After all, there are no shortage of cars that go extremely fast in a straight line. The M5\u2019s charms have always been decidedly more nuanced. For better or worse, BMW set the bar high with the F90 \u2014 we\u2019re not sure the G90 faithfully carries on the tradition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The current M5 is a plug-in hybrid. It isn\u2019t the first BMW M car to hybridize; it probably won\u2019t be the last. Defenders of the hybrid super sled will point at its truly colossal 717 horsepower. They\u2019ll tout its eminently practical 25-mile electric range (40 miles in our own test). They\u2019ll say it\u2019s quick as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":82419,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=82418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/82419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=82418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=82418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=82418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}