M5 Competition pumps up horsepower
BMW took the covers off its 2019 M5 Competition sport sedan in early May, a four-door that bumps the already powerful M5’s output to 617 horses and drops the zeroto-100 km/h time to (a conservatively rated) 3.1 seconds.
Growing up in the ’90s when the McLaren F1 was the fastest production car on the planet, we remember when that low-slung three-seater’s 3.2-second zero-to-100 sprint was mind-blowingly quick.
Now you can do that in a much more affordable car with a trunk full of groceries.
Besides the added power, the M5 Competition gets a lower ride height, stiffer engine mounts and sway bars and reworked springs and dampers. A sport exhaust and 20-inch forged alloy wheels round out the package.
The 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8’s 17-horsepower bump (versus the stock M5) is credited solely to a software recalibration. Torque moves higher up the rev band, but maintains a peak figure of 553 pound-feet. To make those numbers a little more meaningful, they move the M5 Competition to 200 km/ h from a standstill in 10.8 seconds.
Production begins July 18 and Canadian pricing will be released later this month, but in the U.S. the package runs a US$7,400 premium over the regular M5, bringing the base price up to US$110,995. You can expect a similar ratcheting up in MSRP on this side of the border.