The BMW iX and i4 are on their way to spearhead BMW’s new and revitalized EV lineup, but those cars will have nothing on the new i7 or the i5 M. If this latest report is accurate, the i5 M and i7 will make both the 617-horsepower M8 and 627-horsepower M5 CS (the most powerful BMW to date, by the way) appear weak by comparison. How is that possible? Well, folks, the nature of electrification is changing the automotive landscape forever, and this is just the start.

The BMW i7 and i5M Will Be The Most Powerful Cars BMW Has Made for the Road

All of BMW’s future i EVs will be offered with a selection of different battery capacities, range, power output, and driveline configuration. This we all know, but now we’re starting to learn about what BMW is working on next. Auto Motor Und Sport has published a report that relates directly to the upcoming BMW i7 – essentially the electrified version of 7 Series. According to the report, the i7 will be able to support up to a 120-kWh battery and will be offered with a three-motor setup: two large motors on the rear axle and a smaller motor. This, of course, means AWD, but if the report is accurate, it’ll also be capable of delivering 750 horsepower. That accounts for 133 horsepower over the current M8 and 123 horsepower more than the current M5 CS.

Even better yet, the very same powertrain configuration could trickle down to make the i5 M a serious performance. The i5, in general, won’t be able to support such a big battery, with the max size being somewhere around 95-100 kWh. The i5 M will, obviously, get the largest battery and that same three-motor, 750-horsepower driveline, while the lesser models will be offered with either RWD or AWD.

I should point out, however, that this makes for an interesting change of events. Previously, it was believed that the 5 Series EV would borrow technology from the iX3, but back in July of this year, we finally got our first set of spy shots and we discovered that it would be tech happy and feature a bit of a retro look – definitely nothing like we were imagining 6 years ago when we came up with a speculative rendering of the i5, that’s for sure. As for the 7 Series EV, aka the i7, we haven’t actually seen or heard much of it. In 2019, rumors were circulating that there would be a performance model coined the “i7s” and a year later one was caught on the back of a transport truck, but otherwise, it’s still a very big mystery.

As for a debut window for the i5 M or the i7, that’s still up in the air. Previous rumors indicated that the i7 would only offer up 650 horsepower but would arrive sometime closer to the end of 2022. The i5, probably in base form, is said to be arriving in June or July of 2022, so that’ll probably arrive first with the i5 M at least a year after that. That is, of course, unless BMW decides to show its whole hand first, debut the i5 M and release the lesser models later on – it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen that strategy.