BMW Motorsport Division boss, Mr. Friedrich Nitschke has just been interviewed where he had candidly mentioned that the 4-wheel drive M5 is on its way. Already the naturally aspirated engines disappeared from BMW’s line-up and they did so with the amazing S65 4-liter V8. Some still wonder if that age is ever going to make a comeback. According to Nitschke, it won’t and the reasons are obvious. The stringent laws and the purity of the fact that we simply can’t ignore the environmental changes around us, make NA units a sort of unicorn. Even M models will keep on using turbocharged plants which is a good thing if you ask me. As long as there’s no turbo lag, of course, as is the case with the newest turbo they made, the S55.
Speaking about the displacement size of new engines and their characteristics, Nitschke also confirmed that the inline 6-cylinder architecture is safe and sound at BMW as it is one of their trademark features. The size of the units might vary but the architecture will remain the same.
As far as the manual transmission goes, it will be kept on for cars with less than 600 Nm for now. For cars that have more, it becomes harder to use, taking away some of the fun you’re supposed to have with your car. For more potent models, the DCT will be the way to go. Sales reflect this choice as well. In Europe, the take rate of the manual transmissions is under 20% while the US prefer it a little more. For such sales, it’s hard to justify keeping a separate production line open, keep a different gearbox supplier on the line and so on.
Also a lot has been said about them in the past and how xDrive might be offered as an optional on the new models when they come out. Dr. Nitschke also confirms these rumors saying that the M3 and M4 will surely remain rear-wheel drive due to their torque figure but the M5 and M6 that have more twist will have to migrate and offer all-wheel drive but only as an optional feature. More to come in weeks.
