gerry100

More fun to drive my 2700lb/207 HP 911

gerry100

They can achieve some great stats with all that hardware and HP but...

Anybody that Tracks or enjoys fun driving knows that excessive mass is not fun

TheDonEffect

To oversimplify, there are essentially three ways to make power: cylinders to a gas engine, forced induction, and electric motor size/quantity (with corresponding battery). Imo, from a performance/fun car standpoint, it's better to stick to one side of the ICE/EV equation. But, if they must go hybrid, the electric system needs to be boosting an otherwise small/simple ICE setup. Otherwise, you're left with a solution that solves nothing. It's heavier, complicated, costly, and doesn't really achieve anything to negate its penalties. For instance, they wanted an engine to sound good, so they did a V8, great, but a V10 would've been better, so they added turbo, but they wanted the EV response off the line, so they added hybrid. So now you got something that costs what a V10 should've cost, but doesn't sound like a V10, or a V8 for that matter, and added so much weight that it won't launch like a pure EV, nor can it compete from a cost perspective. This M5 is now far far far too heavy, not any faster, and all of its numbers have been met/surpassed with straight ICE setups and obliterated by EVs, and for less money.

This is what I absolutely do not understand about OEMs, it makes no sense. Sure, they will sell enough to make the person who made the decision be able to go the board and say they weren't wrong, all while also being able to say see no one wants ICE sedan, let alone manual, anymore, so let's continue to pursue the profit margin rich upscale EV CUV market. Meanwhile, articles are now coming out that EV owners are starting to switch back to ICE, and the EV bad news floodgate that was guarded by the Teslarati is about to let go, and manual variants of any performance car sustaining crazy resale values over their auto counterpart.

Hate to say it, but OEMs can learn alot of Dodge. The M5 should've just went back to its roots and just be the gentleman's muscle car. Chasing track times, etc, just ruined the car. it needs to be a totally civilized, livable daily car with an endearing power plant.

bkowa092

Hell, the C8 Z06 makes that much power with a naturally aspirated V8. Not to mention it's about 2,000 pounds lighter, lol.

ThreeD

many of us have switched back to simpler cars as you said

just met another local who went cayman gts -> 911 -> taycan -> e46 touring. Lol.

Soul Coughing

If this new M5 is anything like all the other recent debuts from BMW, this 'base' M5 is severely neutered in the power department and will get big jumps in power when the uprated versions debut soon. Still sad that it's gained so much weight, but that's the compromise you get by going to a hybrid setup.

WolfpackS2k

Thankfully, I'm not aware of any other vehicles going hybrid and gaining 1152 POUNDS.

TheDonEffect

Same, and frankly I don't find most of the higher end cars that desirable anymore. In this modern era, there's really no excuse for a car not to be reliable or reasonably maintainable. There are a few cars that I love (Gordon Murray T50 for instance), and I definitely admire alot of them, but I dunno, they just don't do it for me as much as they used to.


Like you said, the weight. And as others have mentioned, all that overly complicated engineering to achieve an objective that was already solved by simpler solutions.

QUIKAG

It doesn't matter if the M5 Hybrid CS Supermax ends up having 1,000hp, it's still going to be a 5,400lb fatty with tires and brakes that will give up way too easy on track. Might as well get an X5/X7/XM, etc.