Following yesterday's leak, BMW has released official details of its fast fat cat four-door, the new M5. Here's the info:
Key Facts
Price: £73,040
Engine: 4.4-litre TwinPower turbocharged V8 petrol
Transmission: seven-speed DCT twin-clutch automatic, rear-wheel drive
Body style: four-door saloon
Rivals: Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG, Porsche Panamera S
CO2 emissions: 232g/km
Combined economy: 28.5mpg
Top speed: 155mph (limited)
0-62mph: 4.4 seconds
Power: 552bhp at 5,750rpm
Torque: 502lb.ft at 1,500rpm
So then, we're looking at a significant improvement over last season's M5. That's a power hike to the tune of 52bhp, a 0-62mph time reduction of 0.3 seconds and a whopping 30 percent fuel economy improvement.
The fifth generation BMW M5 - the F10 model, if you're cool enough to be into using internal codenames - packs the most powerful series production engine in a BMW ever, with 552bhp.
It's a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8, with both blowers using the twin scroll technology that makes pick-up instant and acceleration relentless; the M5 will crack 124mph in 13 seconds flat. And look at that torque figure.
At the same time, EfficientDynamics stuff like stop-start (a first in an M5), brake energy recapture and an Efficient mode for the seven-speed, twin clutch gearbox make this near enough a 30mpg runabout.
In opposition to the bare bones dynamic approach of M Division's current poster boy, the
1 Series M Coupé, the M5 has a variable dynamic programme that BMW calls Hallmark M.
Hallmark M is the canopy under which the characteristics of the throttle mapping, suspension, steering, traction control and brake assist are controlled, through modes including Efficient, Comfort, Sport and Sport Plus.
The multi-plate limited slip differential's behaviour varies between these modes too, and there's a launch control function. The steering, by the way, is a fully electric system with artificial weighting depending on both speed and the mode the car is in.
Each of the six variables of the car (engine management, power steering, gearshift, traction control, damper control and head-up display functionality) can be configured manually so as to offer a bespoke driver setup.
But thankfully it seems the lower-powered 'standard' mode of the current car (which forced the driver to put in an electronic request for the last 100bhp) has gone.
Wheels are 19 inches as standard, but the girth-loving masses of the UK are likely to specify the optional twenties.
Kit thrown in with the £73,040 asking price includes a DAB digital radio, head-up display, parking sensors, four-zone climate control, Bluetooth, satnav, bi-xenon lights and leather. The car goes on sale in the UK in November.
Mark Nichol - 16 Jun 2011