The next BMW M5 is going to get all-wheel drive. It's all but assured at this point, especially given the super sedan's rumored 0-62 mph time of 3.5 seconds. We reached out to BMW for comment on that and were give the standard "we cannot comment on future product" followed by, "However, should BMW release a 'next-Gen BMW M5', it would provide increased performance over the BMW M550i xDrive." While that's expected, the M5 is the top-tier 5 Series, it does seem to be a tacit admission that the new M model is going AWD.

The new M5 would need to either have an insane amount of horsepower or be AWD to surpass the M550i xDrive on the drag strip. The former won't even be considered as it runs contrary to what BMW M's CEO, Frank van Meel, told Autocar about the future of his division; it will need to offer optional AWD to rein in more powerful engines. We just finished test driving the new 5 Series and were pleased with it, although we weren't blown away from a performance standpoint. That will change with the M5. After restating its policy regarding commenting on future product BMW told us the M550i xDrive's official 0-60 mph time, which the new M car will beat. "That being said, we just launched the BMW M550i xDrive with 0-60 figures of 3.9 seconds."

Currently it's looking like the speedy 5 Series will be able to make the sprint in as little as 3.4 seconds, although that number may be high by a few tenths of second. And everyone was saying how bad all-wheel drive would be and that it would ruin the M5. That (rumored) 0-60 mph time seems to suggest otherwise.