2025 BMW M5 true power output revealed
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Did BMW tell a white lie with the new M5’s power outputs? One owner may have just outed the German car maker, with his M5 exceeding expectations on the dyno.
The new-generation 2025 BMW M5 has received criticism since it launched, due to the super sedan being slightly slower and significantly heavier than the model it replaced.
But a relatively small YouTube channel may have just caught BMW in a lie about its M5.
The extra weight is due to BMW fitting the M5 with a plug-in hybrid system, rated to deliver up to 69 kilometres of electric-only driving range, and adding 145kW/280Nm from the electric motor to the 430kW/750Nm 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 – for total stated outputs of 535kW and 1000Nm.
However, in a video posted online by IND Distribution – first reported by Carscoops – it now appears BMW may have been under-reporting the performance output of the M5.
The video, which runs at less than three minutes, shows a brand-new M5 being taken to be tested on a dynamometer. Better known as a dyno, these machines are also known as ‘rolling roads’, and can measure the amount of power being sent to a vehicle’s wheels.
It’s worth noting that car manufacturers exclusively quote engine power, with mechanical loss typically equating to a much lower power figure at the wheels – sometimes estimated to be as much as 40 per cent in all-wheel-drive models.
Mechanical loss is also far less in electric cars, given the power doesn’t typically have to run through as many mechanical links – like gearboxes, differentials, and axles.
But in this case, the M5 far exceeded expectations – laying down an impressive 512kW and 988Nm at the wheels (696hp and 729lb-ft by imperial measures), and suggesting BMW has underrated the official power outputs for the high-performance model.
MORE: 2025 BMW M5 price and specs – Cheaper than old model despite power, tech gain
According to our own calculations, applying a minimal loss of 5 per cent to the electric front axle and a 15 per cent drivetrain loss to the V8, a conservative estimate of the real power output from the M5 could be closer to 575kW.
While BMW has developed a reputation for pulling its punches when it comes to reporting performance figures in its M cars, it’s not the only car maker to do so.
Porsche’s sports cars have been known to exceed published power outputs, and throughout the 1990s – during the so-called ‘Gentlemen’s Agreement’ period – Japanese car brands often released performance cars that evidently produced well above the claimed 206kW/280PS threshold.
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