Tag: M5

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BMW

The future of the M5 will embrace all-wheel drive

F10 BMW M5

BMW M boss, Dr Friedrich Nitschke, says the future of the M5 will include all-wheel drive. However, AWD will be an option only and the M5/M6 will still be available in a traditional rear-wheel drive format as well.

Those wanting all-paw traction for their M5 still have some time to wait. “On our cars we are thinking of all-wheel drive, but it won’t come before we get the successor of the M5 and M6,” Dr Nitschke said.

“That’s the timing and it’s not practical to react in the current life cycles. It would also be an additional option, not the only available model, because a lot of M buyers prefer rear-wheel drive.”

Nitschke revealed at least part of the reason for this move is to respond to the likes of Audi and Mercedes-Benz. “I’ve looked at the numbers and 70 to 80 percent of E63 AMGs are all-wheel drive in the US now,” he said.

Fans of the M3/M4 will be interested in these emphatic words, “The M5 and M6, maybe in the next generation they could get AWD, but not with the M3 or M4. Never,” Nitschke stated.

“To accelerate out of corners with this rear-end architecture concept is so fantastic that it [all-wheel drive] is not needed.”

It’s not the first time we’ve heard M5 and AWD in the same sentence, but the expected time frame for the launch an all-paw M5 has extended.

[Source: motoring.com.au]

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BMW Drive Thru

Drive Thru: BMW M5

F10 BMW M5

I was recently fortunate enough to be offered an entree sampling of the F10 BMW M5. It’s one of BMW’s most iconic models and I was eager to discover if hype and capability lived in harmonious existence.

Once behind the wheel I was immediately comfortable, the seating position is good and while the seats don’t hug you tight like a racing bucket they’re a pleasing compromise between sport and luxury.

I didn’t really get a chance to go through the many and varied iDrive settings, but if you’re a gadget freak I reckon you’d have a lot of fun customising the settings to your satisfaction.

When I began attacking my favoured stretch of black top the first thing I noticed was the M5’s head up display. It’s quite disconcerting at first, prominently in view well above the dash line, but I soon became used to it and with the level of configuration available it’s a very worthwhile feature.

For a heavy car—the M5 weighs 1870kg (unladen)—it turns in quite sharply on a tight mountain pass. You’re always conscious of its bulk, but never to the point of it seriously detracting from one’s driving pleasure.

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BMW

2014 BMW M5 – Australian pricing announced

F10 BMW M5 LCI

BMW has announced pricing for the facelifted F10 M5, now with extra grunt as standard provided by the Competition Package. The updated model will be on sale locally from mid-September and will be priced from $229,900. That’s $100 less than last year’s launch pricing.

As well as cosmetic changes to its exterior the M5 gets revised standard equipment, including the addition of adaptive LED headlights, auto soft-close doors, hands-free boot operation, digital radio, the ability to input charcters by hand into the sat nav using the touch controller and enhanced driver aids such as Lane Change Warning and Pedestrian Warning.

The Competition Package brings an 11kW to the table, for a new peak of 423kW, along with uprated suspension and sway bars for improved handling. Now sitting 10mm lower the Active M diff and steering have also been recalibrated for greater dynamics.

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BMW Tesla

VIDEO: Tesla S v BMW M5

Tesla S v BMW M5

Here we bring you an almost pointless video from Automobile magazine who have lined up a Tesla S and BMW M5 for a drag. But it’s a bit of harmless fun and on paper both manufacturers claim 4.4 seconds are required to reach 100km/h. So let’s see that theory put to practice. Which car do you think will win a straight out drag?

Although, regardless of this result, we think it would be more fun to drive both cars hard around a track or mountain road and see which one runs out of juice first. The Tesla S, with its predicted 480km range (when driven at 90km/h), or the M5 and its 80 litre fuel tank. Bit of a no brainer, perhaps?

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BMW

BMW M Festival in June to debut two models

BMW Concept M5

In an interview on the BMW M-Power website Dominique Gargiulo, head of marketing for M automobiles at BMW GmbH, brings word the upcoming M Festival, to be held during the Nürburgring 24 hour race weekend in late June, will provide a chance for them to show off a couple of new cars.

Gargiulo states, “we will be taking the opportunity to exclusively present two brand-new M automobiles for the very first time – for the enjoyment of our most faithful customers and fans.”

The reveal is scheduled for the Friday evening prior to the race start. Educated speculation leads us to believe the two cars will be a lightweight CSL-inspired M3 EVO saloon and a production-ready M5, which has only been shown in “concept” form to date.

The Nürburgring 24 hour race is already a great landmark on the motoring calendar, and now it looks like there’s even more to look forward to.

[Source: M-Power]

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BMW

BMW M5 Touring rendered

BMW M5 Touring rendering

Okay, it is purple and therefore a little bit ghastly—okay, a lot ghastly—but we do applaud Roger Lighterness for his unofficial rendering of the F10 BMW M5 Touring. We can only assume BMW will make an estate version of their new M5 and, if they do, we’ll be wishing one was ready and waiting in the garage at AUSmotive HQ.

[Source: 5Post]

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BMW

M5 watch: Exclusive customer previews

If you thought the release of official images of the new F10-based Concept M5 was going to be the end of the official teasing from BMW, you were wrong. Okay, we know what the car looks like and Autocar has given us a taste of the performance we can expect, but we still haven’t seen full details from Munich. We’ll have to wait until the Frankfurt Motor Show in September for that.

So, then, that leaves us with a couple of customer preview videos that don’t really offer too much. Dr Kay Segler, gives us a bit when he speaks to camera, so watch out for him. He’s the guy  in the retro inspired M leather jacket.

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BMW

Next BMW M5 spied showing off 7-speed DCT

BMW F10M

A while back there was a minor scare that the F10-based BMW M5 would be made with an auto transmission only. Recent info suggests that won’t be the case and a 7-speed dual clutch transmission will be used instead. A theory supported by these latest spy shots. That won’t appease slaves to self-shifters completely, but it is a mildly better alternative.

We’re still expecting to see the new M5 debut in Shanghai in April, before hitting European showrooms around the time of the Frankfurt show.

There’s a few more spy shots after the break, or you can follow the source link below for more.

[Source: 5Post]

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BMW

BMW M5 prototype sounds a bit better now

BMW M5 prototype

Back in September we brought you video of the latest BMW M5 test mule undergoing testing at the Nürburgring. Aside from the fact it’s always good to see a new M5 on the way the sound from the car in last month’s video was, well, quite disappointing, really. Never mind, though, as this new clip from Car magazine shows that BMW has started to put things right. The twin turbo 4.4 litre V8 is sounding much nicer now!

Reportedly, the M5’s V8 will be good for 578hp, a slight 22hp increase on the 555hp found in the X5 M’s 4.4 litre heart of gold.

It’s understood we’ll see an M5 concept at Geneva next March, with the production ready model on show at Frankfurt in September 2011.

[Source: Car via BimmerFile]

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BMW

BMW M5 prototype filmed during Nürburgring testing

BMW F10 M5 prototype

Fresh video of an F10-based BMW M5 being thrashed around the Nürburgring has emerged. The new M5 will ditch the delightful old V10 in favour of a twin turbo 4.4 litre bent eight. A V8 from Munich should sound good, right? Well, not yet it doesn’t. Not in this test mule anyway.

It’s expected we’ll get to see an M5 concept at the Geneva Motor Show in March next year, before the production-ready version makes its first public appearance at the Frankfurt show about 12 months from now.

There’s two clips after the jump, the first released in the last day or so, the second from back in April, which also features an M3 GTS. Now that’s what a German V8 should sound like!

[Source: 5post | Thanks to Richard & John for the tips]

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BMW

Fresh BMW M5 spy shots

BMW F10 M5 prototype

It’s been a few months since we last saw some decent pics of the F10-based M5 prototype. This round of images gives us a reasonable look at the car inside and out.

The next gen M5 is likely to be powered by a twin-turbo V8 nicked from the X5/X6 M. These new pics also show what appears to be a DCT transmission, with paddles on the steering wheel visible. Also inside you can see a leather-topped dash with alcantara fabric running up the A-pillars.

Then there’s the 265/40/19 tyres up front which should help the new M5 stick to the road. Rear tyre sizing is likely to be 285 or 295 in width at a guess.

More pics after the break. Follow the link below for larger images too.

[Source: bimmerpost]

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BMW

Last hurrah for BMW E60 M5

BMW E60 M5

As the door for a new M model opens, the door for the mighty E60 M5 has closed. With 373kW (507bhp) from its normally aspirated 5.0 litre V10 the most recent M5 was properly quick. In the opinion of AUSmotive it was also the best looking M5 ever made. By far.

In all, a total of 20,548 E60 M5s were sold, making it the highest selling M5 of all time. It may also be the only time we see a V10 stuffed under an M5 bonnet. Rumours suggest the forthcoming F10-based M5 will be powered by a twin-turbo 4.4 litre V8.

Joining BMW’s press release below waving goodbye to the E60 is an image gallery, along with a couple of YouTube clips courtesy of Top Gear.

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