M5 has roar power
THIS is one for the purists. The BMW M5 Competition is the latest saloon from Munich – a touch more of everything for those who sigh in delight at the power and performance of the common or garden M5.
But let’s not be silly. The M5 is hardly an everyday saloon so when you attach the Competition nomenclature to it you can expect something very special indeed.
And indeed it is. Lower than its stablemate, the M5 Competition boasts the same roaring and powerful 4.4-litre V8 petrol turbo engine that provides the wow factor for both of these cars.
In the M5 Competition, however, it has been tuned to deliver 25hp more power – that’s 625hp in all.
As the man from BMW said: “This car is crazy fast.”
It is a lot stiffer than its stablemate and stronger too, to cope with the demands made on it. This in turn makes it slightly heavier but the end result when you send it spinning down those country roads is a car that is so well balanced and comfortable in its skin that you never ever feel it will leave the road.
It has a new sports exhaust which gives it a glorious soundtrack and the usual BMW driving modes including Sport and Sport+ and, of course, you can turn everything off if you want.
There is a marvellous feel of the car through the steering wheel and it is immediately agile and responsive as you put it through its paces daring to ask more of it – and getting the right reply.
For those who like to know these BMW M5 Competition
£ 92,605 625hp, 4,395cc, 8cyl petrol engine driving four wheels via 8-speed automatic gearbox. 155mph
3.3 seconds 19.6
50 246g/km 37%
3 years / 99,999 miles
things, the M5 Competition I drove has an M Carbon engine cover and M Carbon ceramic brakes (£7,495) which mean you stop about as fast as you accelerate from 0-62mph, and that’s in 3.3 seconds.
Externally the Competition looks more muscly and hunkered down because of that lower ride height and, of course, that also provides a more sporty feel for the driver sliding into the car. Instead of sitting on the car peering out – common in our friends the SUVs – the pilot is in the car and part of it. This is a prime feature of the M5 Competition experience.
There are gloss black badges to tell everyone that this is the Competition, and the car itself sits on special 20in alloys.
Inside there are two-tone Silverstone Full Merino leather on the heated seats, a leather steering wheel and dark chrome and aluminium carbon trim.
This car, of course, comes with all the tech you can expect from BMW – sat nav, online services, real time traffic information, concierge services among others as well as a panoply of safety systems. But it is for the drive that car enthusiasts will choose to buy this car.
It is powerful and rewarding and the beauty of it is because it is a saloon you can use it day to day for the shopping or the school run and then break out its full potential at the weekend.
TEST DRIVE BMW M5 COMPETITION