Perhaps you've heard rumors that the new BMW M5 would be
all-wheel drive. Or whispers that it would be more complicated than grad-level
calculus. Or even hints that it may lack a third pedal for the first time in
more than three decades.
BMW on Monday confirmed all of the above. But there's more.
Oh, so much more.
The automaker announced that the 2018 BMW M5 will arrive in
the U.S. next year—sometime after February, but before June—to patient hands
willing to likely pay more than six figures for the privilege. The BMW M5 will
be powered by largely the same engine found in the last iteration, a 4.4-liter
twin-turbo V-8 that's been boosted to 600 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of
torque. A special edition of the outgoing M5, sold in extremely limited
quantities in the U.S., produced nearly the same power.
Power isn't the new M5's only game, though. The new M5 will
feature the first application of BMW's new all-wheel-drive system that can be
configured for rear-wheel-drive only. According to BMW, the all-wheel-drive
system, which BMW calls xDrive, can be specified in rear-drive configuration
with traction control systems reduced—or completely disabled. In normal
circumstances, the M5 operates in all-wheel drive, which helps the M5 rocket
toward 60 mph in 3.2 seconds (compared to 3.6 seconds for the outgoing model).
An all-wheel-drive sport mode can be selected for more slip and rearward bias,
and a rear-wheel-drive lassez-aller mode can be dialed in and you're on your
own, pal.
Even with the all-wheel-drive traction, the new M5's
newfound acceleration could be partly attributed to help by Jenny Craig.
Despite the new, complicated all-wheel-drive system, the new M5 weighs roughly
the same as the outgoing M5 and a few dozen pounds less than the 2018 BMW M550i
xDrive. Official U.S. specs haven't been made public, but BMW announced that
without pesky humans, the overseas M5 would weigh about 4,090 pounds.
Stateside purists may bemoan the lack of a manual
transmission on the new M5, but at least no one else will have the option. BMW
told us that the new M5 will be offered exclusively with an 8-speed
automatic—and that's it. That may not be the end of the story: the last M5
included a competition package and 30-year anniversary model that increased
power output and performance. In other words, stay tuned.
Inside, the M5 acquits itself more toward the driver with a
dizzying array of performance settings, steering wheel controls, and
transmission-mounted buttons to configure the sedan's power. A new M shifter
will debut on the M5, which appears closer to a jet-fighter's thrust lever than
a gear selector. A rocker switch on top of the gear shifter can toggle among
three settings for transmission behavior and shift speed: Mode 1 for efficient
driving, Mode 2 for sporty driving, and Mode 3 for full-on German speed metal.
Switches on the center tunnel will control suspension, throttle, and steering
behavior with your right foot and courage acting as the last lines of defense.
When it goes on sale in spring 2018, the M5 will initially
be offered in a "First Edition" trim that adds a numbered plaque,
20-inch wheels, red paint and white leather. Only 50 examples have been
dedicated for the U.S. and, wait—they're probably gone.
Standard versions of the M5 will have 19-inch wheels wrapped
with ZR-rated rubber that'll presumably hold on tight as the sedan reaches its
optionally available 189 mph top speed (155 mph is the norm, if you need to
know.)The M5 will ditch its hydraulic rack-and-pinion steering
setup for an electronic system with a noticeably quicker ratio. The new rack's
speed has been quickened to 14.3:1, which is faster than the last-generation's
12.7:1 setup, but considerably slower than the competition model's impossibly
fast 18.0:1.
You could say: "Wow, the new BMW M5 has become
impossibly complicated for a sport sedan, now." But by the time you say
those words, the M5 will be traveling faster than a mile a minute.
by Aaron Cole
Http://www.boscheuropean.com
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