The Beefy 717-HP 2025 BMW M5 Compared to Every Other M5
It’s back! There’s an all-new 2025 BMW M5, which means there’s an instant new front-runner in the race for the title of world’s greatest car.
Now in its seventh generation, with 40 years of history under its wheels, BMW’s M5 should be no stranger to any of you. It’s the grandiose leather-stuffed sports sedan by which all others are judged. Often imitated, never duplicated, it practically invented the genre as we know it.
2025 BMW M5 (G90)
2025 BMW M5 (G90)
2025 BMW M5 (G90)
2025 BMW M5 (G90)
The all-new 2025 model moves the story forward by offering more power than ever before (717 horses!) and the first ever plug-in hybrid powertrain in the M5’s long history. It’s also the heaviest M5 in history, by far, tipping the scales at a beefy 2,445 kilograms. (It’s heavier even than the all-electric BMW i5.) Blame the plug-in hybrid system, but don’t get too upset because that electric power means the M5 might not even burn a single drop of gasoline during your weekly commute. We’ll find out soon enough how well (or not) the new 2025 M5 handles all those extra pounds it’s packed on, but in the meantime here’s how it stacks up against all six of its predecessors:
1985 BMW M5 (E28)
Engine: 3.5-litre straight six
Power: 286 hp
Weight: 1,589 kg (approx.)
Drive: Rear-wheel drive
Notes: The original. It’s aging gracefully, but drive one today and you’ll be shocked how slow 286 horsepower feels. It took 6.5 seconds to get from 0-100 km/h. Of course, at the time, it was a rocket and the straight-six is still a thing of beauty. A close relative of the engine from BMW’s M1 supercar, it’s a very exotic piece of mechanical engineering.
1988 BMW M5 (E34)
Engine: 3.5-litre (later 3.8-litre) straight six
Power: 315 hp (later 340)
Weight: 1,670 kg (approx.)
Drive: Rear-wheel drive
Notes: For the first time, the M5 became available as a station wagon, or “Touring” in BMW parlance. Fewer than 1,000 examples of this M5 wagon rolled off the line, making it highly collectable today. The basic engine remained the same, but the straight-six was tuned and enlarged to its limit. A very handsome car.
1998 BMW M5 (E39)
Engine: 4.9-litre V8
Power: 400 hp
Weight: 1,812 kg (approx.)
Drive: Rear-wheel drive
Notes: Some say it’s the best sedan ever made, are we just might agree. A perfect mix of performance and comfort. BMW’s old straight-six had already been tuned to its limit and competition from AMG was heating up, so M Division built its first V8 and what a thing it was. Upon its release, this M5 made more power than Ferraris and Porsches. All these years later, it’s debatable whether any M5 since has surpassed this one in terms of interior quality. More than 20,000 were produced, making it by far the most successful M5 up to that point.
2005 BMW M5 (E60)
Engine: 5.0-litre V10
Power: 507 hp
Weight: 1,848 kg (approx.)
Drive: Rear-wheel drive
Notes: Put pedal to metal in this M5 and you’ll swear there’s an old Formula 1 car tailgating you. As BMW explains, “Since Formula 1 was also running with 10-cylinder engines at that time, the M5 E60’s engine blocks came direct from the F1 foundry of BMW.” The sensory mismatch between this large family sedan and the screaming V10 is gloriously strange. We love and, it’s sad there’ll never be another M5 like it.
2011 BMW M5 (F10)
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 560 hp (later 575)
Weight: 1,870 kg (approx.)
Drive: Rear-wheel drive
Notes: Out went the V10, and in went a V8, only this time (for the first time in an M5) the engine was paired with turbochargers. After the glory of the old V10, fans were a little upset at the muted tone of the twin-turbo V8. It was all in the name of reducing fuel consumption, but there’s no arguing with its effectiveness. This four-door sedan could get to 100 km/h in as little as 4.2 seconds and keep going to a top speed of 305 km/h.
2018 BMW M5 (F90)
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 600 hp
Weight: 1,855 kg (approx.)
Drive: All-wheel drive
Notes: Once again, fans were initially upset about something. This time it was the switch to all-wheel drive. We were skeptical too. But after driving it, even diehard fans admitted it was actually pretty great. The clever all-wheel drive system allowed the car to be more playful, and less conservative in its setup, while also finding more mass-market appeal as a year-round daily-driven vehicle in wintery climates like Canada.
2025 BMW M5 (G90)
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 plug-in hybrid
Power: 717 hp
Weight: 2,445 kg
Drive: All-wheel drive
Notes: Here in Canada, the new 2025 BMW M5 will cost $135,000. For that you get 717 hp, 738 lb-ft of torque, 0-100 km/h in 3.5 seconds, a top speed of 305 km/h, and roughly 40 miles of electric-only driving range. It’s also wider, lower, stronger and meaner than the regular 5 Series. This time, fans will surely be up in arms about the switch to plug-in hybrid power with a single electric motor integrated into the gearbox. M Division has a good track record of winning over its fickle fans simply by having them drive the cars they’re so upset about. The driving experience speaks for itself. We’ll find out later this year whether or not that’s the case for this new seventh-generation M5.