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Future hybrid performance cars might keep their weight a secret, until the media has driven the car.
Strong online reactions to the weight of the plug-in hybrid M5 have caught BMW by surprise, with so many criticising the new model for its 2510kg kerb weight.
Matching a 145kW/280Nm electric motor to a 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 the 2025 BMW M5 gets a 18.6kWh battery and 67 kilometre driving range rating.
For reference, the previous generation ‘F90’ non-hybrid M5 has a 1895kg kerb mass, which is also a smaller vehicle in every direction.
“What I personally have learned is the way social media works.” Frank Van Meel - Boss of BMW M – told Australian motoring media when asked about the brand has learned since the introduction of the first plug-in hybrid M5.
“We underestimated a little bit, the social media experience (as a reaction to the introduction to the M5)." he said.
“We launched the car with no driving experience… We talked about some numbers, including the weight, and that was the only number people started talking about.”
Despite having total outputs of 535kW/1000Nm – and a power-to-weight ratio of 213kW/tonne – social media commentary lit up with opinions on the 615kg increase in mass.
“Actually, the timing was a little bit complicated because we had months of discussion about the weight without people having driven the car.. That’s what we learned.” Van Meel continued.
However, there was a silver lining to the cloud of disparaging comments, according to the head of BMW’s motorsport division:
“And the good thing however, was that we had a lot of awareness about the car, and discussion.” Van Meel said.
“All of that has been swept away as soon as people can drive the car, when the first tests came out, saying 'this car drives insane, it’s better than the outgoing one and you don’t feel the weight."
Van Meel also explained that this could be a cautionary tale for future hybrid-powered model launches:
“You see it also, competitors have learned a lot. Every competitor that is currently launching a hybridised sports car does not reveal the weight until the test drive.”
“Now, we are quite happy. But I was a little bit, let’s say surprised by the social media discussion without having driven the car.”
Demand is described as ‘skyrocketing’ for the M5, with Van Meel saying BMW have increased production capacities a couple of times to keep up with demand.
The new BMW M5 is priced from $259,900 plus on-road costs, and will be followed by the M5 Touring wagon later in the year.
Sam Purcell has been writing about cars, four-wheel driving and camping since 2013, and obsessed with anything that goes brum-brum longer than he can remember. Sam joined the team at CarAdvice/Drive as the off-road Editor in 2018, after cutting his teeth at Unsealed 4X4 and Pat Callinan’s 4X4 Adventures. Off-road writer of the Year, Winner - Sam Purcell
