BMW is planning on discontinuing the current seventh generation 5 Series later this year and it’ll be replaced with an all new model, which will consist of an all-electric version, much like the BMW i4 that the company offers today. The BMW i5 will feature a unique design to make it differ from the combustion models, with blanked-off grille and custom wheel designs.
Although not confirmed yet, BMW is likely going to use the i4 model range as a base for the upcoming i5. The BMW i4 is offered in either a rear wheel drive or a four wheel drive configuration, with the choice of power outputs from 335bhp all the way up to 536bhp. The battery packs from the i4 are likely to be used in the i5, which offer a range of up to 350 miles.
The platform to be used will be the Cluster Architecture (CLAR), which is already in use with a wide range of other BMW models, excluding the 1 Series and 2 Series. This platform is suited to the cars BMW is offering at the moment, as it is compatible with pure combustion, mild hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fully electric.
For the non-electric 5 Series, BMW is likely going to keep offering the majority of its combustion engines, with the four and six cylinder models as well as its new plug in hybrid offerings too. It is pretty unclear at this stage what will happen to the V8 models, namely the M550i xDrive and the iconic, BMW M5. The recent changes to emissions regulations may just force the M5 and other V8 models into extiction, as developing a brand new engine of the reminder of this decade isn’t financially feasible. The N63 in use has been around since the first-generation BMW X6, from 2008.
The all new electric BMW i5 and other 5 Series models are due to launch later this year.
