Germany: 2018 BMW M5 revealed

BMW unveiled the new M5 featuring an all-wheel-drive system at the GamesCon in Cologne, Germany. Electronics Arts and BMW Group debuted the new M5 in the video game Need for Speed Payback. The car can be ordered from September 2017 with a starting price of 117,900 Euros and deliveries will commence by the end of first quarter of 2018. The M5 first edition model limited to just 400 cars worldwide will also be available in an exclusive Frozen Dark Red metallic paint option at an added cost of 19,500 Euros.

The car has a reworked standard 5 series chassis with components unique to the M version. This includes the addition of an extra brace and aluminium struts at the rear to improve stiffness of the suspension linkages. The car has also grown is size and is the biggest of all the M5s ever made. It is 4,965 mm long, 1,903 mm wide and 1,473 mm tall, an increase of 55 mm, 12 mm and 16 mm respectively over the previous M5. Despite the increase in size, the engineers at BMW have managed to shave off about 25 kg to bring the kerb weight to 1,855 kg. Weight reducing measures include using an aluminum bonnet, a carbon-fibre roof, a boot mounted lithium ion battery and a lightweight exhaust system.

Powered by the familiar 4.4-litre V8 bi-turbo engine from the previous M5, the new M5 uses reworked components like new turbochargers and intercoolers. The fuel injection pressure has been increased as well and the engine now produces 591 BHP @ 5,600 - 6,700 rpm and 750 Nm @ 1,800 - 5,600 rpm. This translates to an improvement of 40 BHP and 72 NM over the previous version. Power is sent to all wheels through an M xDrive four-wheel-drive system. The system enables the car to accelerate from a standstill to the ton in a claimed time of 3.4 seconds, an improvement of almost a second over the outgoing model. The top speed is electronically limited to 250 km/h; however, the optional M Driver's Package increases it to 305 km/h.

The four-wheel-drive system, debuting for the first time on any M series car, features a central transfer case along with an active rear differential. This allows the power to be distributed between the front and rear axles as required. The M xDrive can be adjusted by the driver in 5 different modes based on the combination of the Dynamic Stability Control (DSC off, M Dynamic mode, DSC on) modes and 3 M xDrive modes. With the DSC on, the car allows slight slip while accelerating out of corners. In M Dynamic mode, the car is still in 4WD mode, but allows controlled drifts. With the DSC off, the driver can choose from 3 modes for the M xDrive - 4WD, 4WD Sport and 2WD.

The driver can also choose 3 modes for the Variable Damper Control (VDC). Efficient, Sport and Sport Plus are the 3 engine modes. There are two buttons on the steering wheel (M1 and M2) which store the engine, transmission, suspension, M xDrive modes, DSC mode and head-up display settings as preferred. The driver can also use a button to adjust the engine sound as desired courtesy of the flap control system in the exhaust.

The standard M compound brakes feature blue painted six piston fixed calipers at the front and single piston floating calipers at the rear. All the four discs are perforated and inner vented. The optional carbon ceramic brakes have gold coloured calipers and further lower the kerb weight by 23 kgs. The car comes with 19-inch rims as standard with a staggered tyre setup of 275/40 R19 at the front and 285/40 R19 at the rear. Optional 20-inch wheels are also available. Other standard features include Merino leather and M seats with electric adjustment.