M5 watch: Pre-production review by Chris Harris

Chris Harris has been given some time in a pre-production BMW M5, internally known as the F10M. There’s a brief video clip for you after the break as well.

So what’s this F10M like, then? Here’s what Harris reckons so far:

“Is turbocharging a highlight? When it makes a car this flexible and plain accelerative, it has to be. Yes, the near-insanity of the old V10 makes way for slightly reduced throttle response, but it’s marginal. On a Swedish lake, you can still make tiny adjustments to sustain that all-important 1km drift. Does it feel turbocharged? A little bit. Does it make enough induction noise? No. But this isn’t the finished car, the BMW M-gurus insist that the final product will be different in this respect.”

While the 4.4 litre twin turbo V8 first saw service in the X5 M, the M5 version will have more power. We’re just not sure how much more yet.

Follow the link below for Harris’ full review.

[Source: Evo]

UPDATE: Harris now freelances for Jalopnik, as well. He says much the same stuff, but differently, over there.