Full-fat big M! 2025 BMW M5 goes plug-in hybrid but keeps all eight cylinders as a warning shot past Audi RS6 and future AMGs!

When AMG revealed its new C63 would have a hybrid four-cylinder, it seemed like the end of German V8 sedans as we know them. If the brashest of the lot can lose half its cylinders, what hope do the rest have?

Perhaps BMW learned from what many see as AMG’s blunder. The new 2025 BMW M5 is coming to Australia and, even though it’s gone hybrid, it still has eight cylinders under the bonnet.

In fact, BMW’s big M sedan borrows a similar plug-in hybrid (PHEV) drivetrain set-up from the monolithic XM SUV, but brings more power, torque, speed and arguably more svelte looks.

Starting with the most important part of any M car, the engine remains BMW’s trusty 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V8, though it’s now assisted by hybrid tech gleaned from the BMW M Hybrid WEC race car.

Drawing power from both combustion and an 18.6kWh lithium-ion battery, the new M5 produces 535kW of power and 1000Nm of torque, sent to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission and BMW’s 'xDrive' AWD system.

The electric motor is capable of generating 145kW on its own, integrated into the transmission and able to propel the M5 up to a top speed of 140km/h under EV power alone. That top speed bumps up slightly to 305km/h with the engine (430kW and 750Nm on its own) thanks to the 'M Driver’s Package' coming in standard for Australia.

While it’ll be a challenge at 140km/h, BMW says the M5 can drive up to 67km under electric power alone before needing to be plugged in, though if you’re not able to do so, the sound of 4.4-litres of V8 will keep you company via four rather unsubtle 100mm-wide exhaust tailpipes.

Speaking of sound, BMW has again employed the use of its Hans Zimmer-composed 'Iconic Sounds' in the M5, which features an M-specific sound personality to accompany electric driving for a little added drama.

But for that full-power, engine roaring-type stuff, the M5’s greasy bits will do plenty to keep the big 5.0-metre sedan on the road. An electronically controlled 'Active M Differential' keeps torque headed to the correct wheels, while adaptive M suspension and electronically controlled dampers soak up bumps and help keep as much rubber to the road as possible.

That rubber comes wrapped on staggered wheels, by the way. A pair of 20-inch alloys at the front leads a pair of 21s at the rear, both poorly hiding rather large brakes (optionally carbon ceramic) behind them.

Via the M5-specific control panel in the console (plus the multimedia screen borrowed from the other 5 Series variants), drive modes are broadly adjustable. Individual elements like suspension, drivetrain, and steering are able to be differentiated between hybrid and electric driving, and preferred settings can be made available via the steering wheel’s ‘M1’ and ‘M2’ customised drive mode buttons.

More localised details for the BMW M5’s Australian specifications, including its pricing, will be made available from July this year, with the car set to be revealed at Goodwood Festival of Speed before launching locally in late 2024.

BMW Australia says early customers should expect to take delivery of their new M5 from the start of 2025, though we’d expect pricing to jump up from even the last Competition-spec model’s asking price of around $270,000 when new.