Well, they just find it a bit difficult in the truest sense of the word. If you ask them, the engineers at M GmbH, despite all their optimism there is a little bit of "there was no other way". We are talking about weight, of course. The new BMW M5 is the most powerful BMW M5 ever by far. So we're talking about 102 PS and 250 Nm more than before.
But what everyone is talking about is almost exclusively that it has gained an unprecedented paunch in the transition from Generation 6 to Generation 7. And it's true, of course. I already mentioned it in the introduction of the new model as the scales now show an extra 500 kilos. It's hard to believe at first glance, but it's the new plug-in hybrid drive with electric motor and 22.1 kWh battery that has its sausage fingers in the pie.
Why are we doing this to ourselves? Because the new one would no longer have achieved the 625 PS of the old one thanks to increasingly stringent regulations from Brussels. At least not with a combustion engine alone. And even if the advocates of pure doctrine say "So what, it doesn't matter, just make it lighter and even more agile", that sounds reasonable, but unfortunately it's simply not how the market works at all. Because, as a rule, nobody wants a sports car that has less power than its predecessor, at least no one who can really afford it.
Now, the M5 has always been something of a fine blade among performance saloons, the one with the most pronounced driving dynamics talent, the one with the coolest and most playful handling. It's hard to believe that such a thing is still possible with an unladen weight of 2,435 kilograms. So if it is, then the ladies and gentlemen developers from Garching are the most likely to achieve it, but as I said, there are doubts.
In order to dispel these doubts for the writing and filming guild, BMW invited us to a prototype test on the Salzburgring before the premiere. This is quite remarkable, because the Ösi circuit, which feels like it consists of three bends, not only has a lot of straights where the car can force its 727 PS and 1,000 Nm into the heads and stomachs of the journalists, but also two very long bends that reveal weight more cruelly than a striped bathing suit.
Gallery: BMW M5 (2024) Pre Drive
M head of development Dirk Häcker then admits that we are dealing here less with a proven track tool and much more with a very confident and extremely powerful touring car.
Seconds later, I roll out of the pit lane in a whisper, because it's purely electric, and Häcker in the M3 CS in front of me immediately goes into overdrive. So I quickly click the famous red steering wheel buttons into the new Dynamic mode so that the boss doesn't immediately take off in his CS, and in a fraction of a second, the holy calm turns into an absolutely unholy storm.
The 4.4-litre V8 actually engages in a mix of speed and smoothness that is very impressive. Häcker emphasises that the aim was to perceive the two engines as an absolute unit in dynamic operation. This was definitely achieved in this masked test vehicle.
The 585 PS combustion engine is as sudden as the electric prelude, and the new motor/engine combo pushes the first electrified M5 forwards wildly. To explain briefly: the optional Dynamic mode sharpens up the cooling and drive components so that they constantly deliver high performance over a longer period of time - on a mountain pass, for example. Dynamic Plus then goes one better and squeezes everything it can out of the car for one or two fast laps.
Even in Dynamic, throttle response and propulsion are powerful. At the same time, my senses can't completely deceive me, because I can already tell that there's a lot of bump and a lot more acceleration here. It feels like you are driving a much more monumental version of its predecessor. A huge vehicle, which the M5, at 5.09 metres long and 1.97 metres wide, simply is.
One measure for the virtual downsizing of the PHEV battleship is the rear-wheel steering installed for the first time in an M5. It certainly plays its part in the fact that the steering impulse is immensely direct, but also a little disconnected and artificial thanks to the very light and fast steering. The way the G90 weaves its way through the tight chicane after the start-finish line is something you wouldn't believe it capable of with such agility. It's suddenly smaller than it actually is.
Unfortunately, it's no longer smaller in long corners. I'm reluctant to feed the fears, but there's no arguing with what the scales say. Despite the favourable position of the battery in the underbody, you know the argument.
So at some point the car starts to push over the front wheels, tyres squeal, it braces itself with everything it has, but doesn't quite make it. The insanely large brakes are also constantly being pushed to their limits. Welcome to the new performance world? You will probably have to get used to it.
After all, this also means that the M5 accelerates out of the bend with a power that is completely bananas. The ease (if you can use that term here) with which it does this is simply impressive.
In the meantime, I have switched to Dynamic Plus, which means that the V8-electric transmission combo unrestrainedly throws any remaining modesty overboard. The sound tightens up (which is just brilliant now and justifies sticking with the big unit) and the throttle response is ultra-aggressive. In a way that, to be fair, would not be possible without electric assistance.
In terms of sound, there is a little help in the cockpit, but in 2024 it simply feels really good to hear a furious V8 revving at 7,200 rpm, as it did recently.
Other findings? You sit a little high, but the whole experience is in excellent seats. There won't be any carbon bucket seats like in the M2/M3/M4, the M5 customer obviously doesn't value such racing frills. And they don't have to, because the seats upholstered in the new metallic leather with a sharp shimmering effect look sumptuous, are extremely comfortable and still hold very well.
In the meantime, we can show what the cockpit looks like without panelling
The new, flattened steering wheel of the M5
There wasn't much more of the interior to be seen in my test vehicle, as there were still too many cloths and covers over the crucial areas. But now the cat is out of the bag and we know what the cockpit of the G90 looks like, there is no longer a real gear selector lever. Instead, you can now use countless menu items to work out how you want your M5 to drive you around.
An M setup screen with all the driving dynamics settings has never been more comprehensive, and then there's also the operating strategy. Pure electric (up to 87 mph)? Hybrid? Or keep the battery? Driving a performance car has become highly complex. Simply getting in and shooting off is no longer an option.
And that perhaps fits a little as a first, very early conclusion about the new M5. In order to fulfil the ever more absurd requirements of the authorities, it had to become a highly complex vehicle that somewhat lacks the natural, lateral dynamic self-image of its predecessors. But again, that was three laps of a racetrack. We will take the liberty of making an overall judgement later in the year when we have driven the new M5 longer and on the road.
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