New spy photos capture testing of the upcoming BMW i5 electric sedan at the Nurburgring race track. We’ve sporadically seen the car tested over the course of a year wearing various camouflage disguises, with the latest test vehicles sporting well-fitting camouflage wraps.
New photos appear to show the hotter i5 M60, which looks a lot like the test vehicle spied on before. At the front, the exposed closed grille features an M-shaped badge that is covered but not hidden. Bigger brakes, red brake calipers and a subtle trunk spoiler further suggest that this is a performance variant. However, this is not the M5.
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We don’t have any powertrain details yet, and the rumors have dried up. The i5 M60 has to be the most powerful Series 5 model available alongside the full-fat M5 model. This proper M car will feature a plug-in hybrid powertrain that produces a sturdy 644 horsepower (480 kilowatts) and 590 pound-feet (800 Nm) of torque. While we don’t know what the i5 M60 will offer, we can look to the iX M60 for clues. The electric SUV makes 611 hp (449 kW) from the dual-motor setup, but BMW could turn that around for the sedan.
That shouldn’t be a big deal on the smaller, lighter, and, hopefully, more agile i5. With a smaller footprint, the EV should handle better than the iX and be a lot more fun to drive. However, BMW is preparing a new 3 Series EV that will ride on its Neue Klasse platform, which should be more fun to drive than the i5.
The i5 should follow the rest of the Series 5 lineup by adopting the brand’s iDrive 8 setup. This will give the EV a dual screen layout on the dashboard paired with the latest in-car features.
BMW has not made any indication of when the new i5 could debut. All signs point to the company revealing an EV sometime early next year, but there’s enough time left in 2022 for BMW to surprise us. The Series 5 and electric i5 could go on sale by the end of 2023.
