The new electric BMW 5 Series – the i5 – will drift*

BMW has revealed that its upcoming electric 5 Series saloon – dubbed the i5 – will drift.

Though, not with such specificity. BMW instead opted for the more diplomatic approach. “The new BMW i5 repeatedly demonstrated both the stability of its electric powertrain and its dynamic performance qualities over the course of arduous test drives in wintry conditions.”

Must be arduous sliding a big saloon about on northern Sweden’s finest ice lakes, sure. We’re told the incoming i5 features a further tweaked version of BMW’s fifth-generation electric powertrain, a version of which sits underneath the TG Award-winning BMW i4.

We don’t know what powertrain(s) were being tested here, but the i4 for example, features a twin-motor M50 variant – the best-selling M car of 2022, fact fans! – producing 537bhp and capable of 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds. The rear-drive single motor i4 – ‘eDrive40’ – will do that benchmark in under six seconds and offer 365 miles of range.

So it’s a proven drivetrain. BMW has apparently given the i5’s fifth-gen eDrive tech a tweak for “long ranges and short charging times” during its 1,850-mile testing regime… which conveniently ended up on a frozen lake in Arjeplog.

Perfect time to test out the i5’s handling smarts. BMW claims it was to “fine tune” the powertrain and chassis control settings, though judging by the angles of drift on offer in these pics, one suspects BMW’s engineers just wanted to blow off some steam.