If rumors hold true, then BMW's i5 is set to outperform its M5.
http://ecomento.com/2015/08/10/expan...ineup-rumored/
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Reports about a new BMW i model have been flying around for months now. Klaus Froehlich, the company’s head of R&D, told Automotive News Europe back in April that his team has just begun brainstorming what the next model in the “i” family might be and that it won’t arrive until 2020 at the earliest. He also said emphatically that it will be as unique in its own way as the i3 and i8 and would not be based on any existing car in the BMW lineup.
But now, BMW CEO Harald Krueger tells Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung that there is room in the middle of the i sub-brand’s current two model lineup “from the number point of view.” What that means, exactly, is unclear and Krueger declined to offer any additional information.
Now here’s what the rumor mill has to say. Unlike the i3 and i8, which are their own unique products independent of the rest of the BMW range, the i5 will be based on the 5 Series sedan and will use a more powerful version of the i8 plug-in hybrid powertrain. Suggestions are that the car will feature anywhere from 544 to 640 horsepower. It is said to have two electric motors, giving it all wheel drive capability.
According to one report, the i5 will have 78 miles of electric only range at speeds up to 36 miles per hour. The gasoline engine would only be called upon for maximum acceleration and range extender duties, similar to the Chevy Volt. If the rumors are true, the i5 will be arriving sooner rather than later and will out-perform the BMW M5.
Wonder what Harald Krueger and Klaus Froehlich talk about in BMW’s executive lunchroom? Their statements about the future of BMW’s “i” division could not be more different.
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