Report: Next-gen BMW M5 and M6 will have all-wheel drive
There have been rumors for years that BMW would produce the M5 and M6 with all-wheel drive (AWD), but they have yet to become a reality. The possibility of this changing is now confirmed by Dr. Friedrich Nitschke, BMW’s chief M division. He said that the company is currently working on plans to produce an all-wheel-drive M5 and M6.
AWD is already available in the lineups of competitors like Audi’s RS and Mercedes’ AMG models. This has made it difficult for Bavaria to catch up. It will be many years before we see the M5 and M6 AWD. After a year, the M5 will be the first to get the technology. This is due to the arrival of the next generation 5-series in 2016, or 2017.
The M division already has both the X5 M M and the X6 M. However, both are based upon an all-wheel drive architecture while the M5 & M6 are based upon a rear-wheel driven system. Nitschke confirmed that the M3 M4 and M4 will not stray far from their rear-wheel drive architecture, which he described as amazing.