BMW M Division Boss Explains Why the New xDrive M5 Isn't the Devil

That's even truer when he speaks about the next BMW M5, which is almost upon us. But if news of a new M model is generally met with excitement from the brand's passionate fans, this one has a bit of anxiety added to the mix. And it all has to do with the car's wheels.

Particularly, how many of them are going to be connected to the transmission. You see, until the X models joined the team, M vehicles have always been rear-wheel-driven, and the fans came to see that as one of their trademarks. In reality, though, it wasn't necessarily something mentioned in the engineers' brief, but rather the solution chosen to achieve the best performance and handling characteristics.

"BMW M stands for precision and agility in the high-performance segment," Mr. Frank van Meel says in a video released by the company's YouTube channel, "not for a specific kind of technology. And we've always said all-wheel-drive could be interesting for us should it be in line with these values."

Frankly, the fans thinking they know better what M stands for than the people working there is almost insulting. It's true that, like a sports team, the supporters' satisfaction should come first, but it's different here. The fans don't have the technical knowledge to always know what's best for them, whereas the carmaker's engineers do. And besides, van Meel made a name for himself working for Audi's quattro division, so what exactly was everyone expecting?

In a move that might fuel the outrage even further, we'd like to direct your attention toward a specific phrasing used by Frank van Meel. When mentioning what the BMW M was not all about, he didn't say a specific "drive setup," but "technology." Do you know what that means? Yes, hybrid M cars are very much a possibility. Prepare the tanks with holy water.