William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

October 7, 2013

Audi has done it since the start of their S and RS lineup; Mercedes-Benz has begun to do it with AMG, and now it appears BMW is thinking about adding it to their M cars again. What am I referring to is the addition of all-wheel drive.

Motoring spoke with BMW M's president Friedrich Nitschke who revealed that the next-generation M5 and M6 could come with the option of all-wheel drive.

“On our cars we are thinking of all-wheel drive, but it won’t come before we get the successor of the M5 and M6. That’s the timing and it’s not practical to react in the current life cycles. It would also be an additional option, not the only available model, because a lot of M buyers prefer rear-wheel drive," said Nitschke.

When asked this question earlier in the year, Nitschke said there was no plans for all-wheel drive models in the M lineup. What changed his tune?

“I’ve looked at the numbers and 70 to 80 percent of E63 AMGs are all-wheel drive in the US now.”

There is also a performance angle to this as well. A BMW M5 hits 60 MPH in 4.2 seconds. However, the Audi RS7, Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG (w/AWD), and Porsche Panamera Turbo can do it in 4 seconds.

However, don't expect M to go crazy with all-wheel drive in their lineup.

“The M5 and M6, maybe in the next generation they could get AWD, but not with the M3 or M4. Never,” said Nitschke.

Source: Motoring.com.au

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.