After months of speculation, BMW has finally confirmed some details on its new M5 – the sixth generation of the sporty sedan to be later this year.

As expected, the new M5 will feature an M TwinPower Turbo 4.4-litre V8 engine that delivers 596 hp and 700 Nm of torque, allowing it to achieve a 0 to 100 km/h time of less than 3.5 seconds. BMW also confirms that the 7-speed DCT transmission has been replaced by an eight-speed M Steptronic transmission with Drivelogic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5fGB-ugvI0

The biggest news is BMW’s new M xDrive system, which is a rear-biased AWD set-up, only bringing the front wheels into play when the rear wheels aren’t able to transmit any more power to the road and additional tractive force is required, in a similar fashion to Nissan’s ATTESA system found in the R32-R35 GT-Rs. Unlike the Skyline system, the BMW driver can choose from five different configurations based on combinations of the DSC modes (DSC on, MDM, DSC off) and M xDrive modes (4WD, 4WD Sport and dedicated 2WD).

The BMW M5 is expected to debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.