The long-awaited BMW M5 has been revealed with a new plug in hybrid powertrain, new bodywork and an aggressive new look
The BMW M5 follows the M3's footsteps by not just introducing a touring version of the M5 but giving the M5 wider front and now rear for the first time wheel arches to give it a menacing look. The has been matched with a new front look with a new M grill, bigger central air vent and aggressive side vents. The rear also gets a big diffuser, bigger boot lip spoiler and a reworked bumper. Also new down the side is the side skirt, the M5 badge and new 20 inch wheels at the front with 21 inches at the back.
Inside to start with we get a set of all new front seats that have bespoke colour and trim options. You also get bespoke M Graphics when you get in the vehicle as well as M Graphics on the iDrive 8.5 system. The steering wheel is also new based on the new i5 M60 version with a red top dead centre line and a flat bottom. The airbag cover is slightly more premium though and you also get the M1 and M2 personal setting buttons.
What is new for any M car excluding the XM is the plug in hybrid powertrain. This gives the M5 716 bhp and 1,000Nm of Torque. This is mated to a 4.4 litre V8 that is used in other BMW M cars which in itself produces 576 bhp on the new M5. Power is sent through an 8 speed automatic gearbox to all 4 wheels using MX Drive. This lets you choose normal 4WD mode, 4WD Sport mode which is rear wheel drive biased or you can go fully rear heel drive. The electric motor gets its power from a 19.6 kWh battery pack giving the M5 43 miles of electric only driving. This is slightly less than the Mercedes E53 but the battery is smaller than that car. One thing to point out is that there is no DC fast charging which again is a slight shame.
Now with these figures you are probably thinking that the new M5 is much better than the old M5 in terms of performance, well in matter of fact the performance is actually down from the old M5 with a 0.2 second slower 0-62 time coming in at 3.5 seconds. This is a shame really and there will be no Competition version either but there may be a CS version which will help the power. The top speed of the new M5 is still at 155 mph limited but it can go all the way to 189 mph with the BMW M Driver's Package.
The rivals of the new BMW M5 are the Audi RS6 Avant or the new RS7 Avant when that comes out in the next few years. The regular RS7 will also be a rival as well as the Mercedes AMG E53. Pricing starts at £111,045 and deliveries will start at around November along with the M5 Touring which means we wont have too long to wait for the reveal of the BMW M5 Touring.
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