Taking to the road or track? New BMW M5 turns on the power
BMW has just unveiled its new M5 (and M5 Competition Pack) performance saloon
– the car it claims can mix vibrant driving with everyday practicality.
The power on tap is awesome: it pumps 625hp from its 4.4-litre V8 engine with M TwinPower Turbo technology.
The revamped motor goes on sale July 1, and introduces M Mode and a larger 12.3ins central information display powered by BMW Operating System 7.0.
That V8’s 625bhp is matched by the enormous peak torque of 750Nm which applies all the way from 1,800rpm to 5,860rpm.
And the chassis is better tuned for track performance thanks, partly, to new dampers.
There is fun to be had as you can change the characteristics of the engine at the touch of a button (it switches from Efficient to Sport, Sport +).
This powerhouse slingshots from zero to 100kmh in a mere 3.3 seconds – impressive for a large saloon. But it doesn’t end there; it goes from zero to 200kmh in 10.8 seconds. Top speed is 248kmh but you can push that out to 304kmh if you order the M Driver’s Package.
Some of the gear (forgive the pun) on board includes the 8spd M Steptronic transmission. You can use both the selector lever and the shift paddles on the steering wheel to drive ‘manually’ which is my preferred mode in cars like this. Then there is all-wheel-drive (M xDrive) which favours the rear wheels but you can alter the distribution between front/ rear as well as adjusting Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) system response.