Quick on the draw: it’s the new €163,800 BMW M5

THIS is BMW’s new flagship powerhouse – the €163,800 M5.

And they’re claiming it is the most powerful and quickest super 5-series saloon they’ve made to date.

Due here next February, this sixth generation M5 pumps an eye-popping 592bhp from its 4.4-litre V8.

And it has four-wheel drive (M xDrive) as standard while the 8spd M Steptronic transmission has Drivelogic for rapid gear changes.

It’s a big car (55mm longer to 4,965mm, wider by 12mm to 1903mm and taller 1,473mm (+16mm) but it can race from a standing start to 100kmh in a mere 3.4 secs.

That is quick.

It doesn’t help a lot but weight is marginally down (25kg) to 1,855kg.

The new platform means it is a lot more rigid on the road but lighter than the current one. And, as you’d expect, they are claiming it is an even better car to drive.

The cabin will take four adults and there are 530 litres of luggage space.

Expect a lot of talk about the adoption of four-wheel drive – a first for the M5. Special software means it remains heavily rear-wheel-drive biased, however.

The underpinnings are heavily modified on the ordinary 5-series suspension; there are all sorts of tweaks and technologies employed to make it an ‘M’.

It sure is a car to set the driving juices flowing – if you’ve got €163,000 or so handy.