BMW i5 electric sedan spotted in the wild with a much smaller grille

With every new BMW launched these days, everyone seems to be just asking one question - how big is the new grille? It is as if the performance and refinement offered by the cars from the Bavarian manufacturer have been overshadowed by this one design feature.

The new all-electric BMW i5 has been spotted wearing a full camouflage but the photos are so detailed, we can easily tell the grille is much smaller than that of the BMW i4. It doesn’t appear to be going all the way down across the bumper, the two kidney-shaped ovals are sitting happily where they used to in so many previous generations of BMWs.

It’s a relief honestly, after the recent shocking unveiling of the XM, seeing classic lines on the upcoming BMW is good news many fans have been waiting for. The photos reveal two versions of the soon to be launched i5 - the i5 eDrive40 and i5 M60 xDrive.

The first is the i5 eDrive40 that is completely hidden under the fabric covers, we can see this is a Shadowline version with all chrome replaced by gloss black trim elements. The car will share its drive with the smaller i4, the 335 HP powertrain should be able to deliver a rather brisk performance, even though the i5 will be a bigger and heavier car.

According to inside sources, there were supposed to be three i5 models available - eDrive40, xDrive40 and M50. The second car in the photos has a note in the window that clearly says it is the M60 version, suggesting it shares its powertrain with the bigger iX M60. That would make it the fastest electric BMW out there - hands down.

It is possible BMW will detune the 610 HP unit, it lets the heavier iX storm from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.8 seconds and it could make the lighter i5 a 3 seconds and a bit supercar chaser. That is an unlikely plan for the BMW which would prefer the iX M60 to be at least equally fast, the only way to achieve that would be to drop the power output down by 20 HP, enough to keep the i5 around the 3.5 seconds mark.

Anything over 500 HP in a BMW i5 will be a huge plus, it’ll be an absolute hoot to drive, not far off the older M5 versions albeit without the singing V10 or V8. Good days are ahead for all BMW fans, if indeed the company managed to restrain the designers and the grille will be as small as it appears to be, there won’t be much else that could possibly spoil the i5.

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