MULTIPLE CHOICE

Just where does the 2021 M5 fit into M division’s formidable line-up of sports saloons and coupes? Our handy guide will explain all

ONCE UPON A TIME IT WAS OH SO EASY TO FOLLOW a manufacturer’s model strategy: there was the small one, the slightly bigger one and the grand fromage at the top of the pile. You might get a spin-off or two, but it was generally pretty straightforward. And then the product planners discovered niches and before long convention was thrown out of the window and the high-performance people carrier was born (remember the AMG R63?) and limos were setting lap times. All very strange.

In the world of BMW M, more niches have been avoided than exploited, the focus trained on delivering coupes and saloons that more often than not set the performance benchmark.

Yet even M isn’t immune from seemingly stepping on its own toes, and with the arrival of the new M3 and M4 this year, and the continued success of the M2, there are now two very compelling coupes to choose from. Or, depending how you look at it, two very compelling saloons to choose from. And then there’s the M5 and the M8 family. The former a single entity, the latter a trio of options offering different ways to enjoy 616bhp. To the layperson such a spread of performance cars with very similar remits invites questions about fishing for the same drivers from a very shallow pool. But in M’s case there’s actually a clear rationale at work – as we discovered when we convened a family gathering…