The NEW M5
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 82
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From: Toronto
The NEW M5
Its @%&# expensive but the new M5 kicks A$$
Damn, I want one
The link has been down for part of the day so I've added the text below
http://en.autos.sympatico.msn.ca/adv...e&pos=editlead
An All-New BMW M5
With 507-hp V10 engine
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall rating: 9.5 / 10
Pros
- A 507-horsepower V10 - what more need there really be said?
- OK, then: the newest M5 has handling and brakes to match.
- With gobs of luxury and comfort thrown in for good measure.
Cons
- Styling still a sore point for most.
- The best never comes cheap.
- Quality of the interior trim is not quite up to rest of the car.
Simply the World's
Most Potent Sports Sedan
Power corrupts?
Then corrupt me, baby...
To the tune of 507 horsepower.
That's in Germany; when the new BMW M5 comes to North America in September 2005 - yes, you'll have to wait almost a
whole year - it'll probably be advertised at a more conservative 500. Oh, darn.
Still, the 5.0-litre V10 will be potent enough to motivate this car from rest to 100 km/h in about 4.7 seconds. In a luxury sedan
that can accommodate four people in Grand Luxe comfort.
Holy cow !
How can we justify power like that in a world where we're constantly worrying about where our next barrel of crude oil is
coming from?
Just that we never really know where progress is going to take us. More powerful engines today may lead to more fuel-efficient
and cleaner engines tomorrow.
Breakthrough Engine Technology
In fact, the new M5's powerplant represents breakthroughs at several levels. It generates over 25 per cent more power out of the
same displacement as the previous M5's V8. It is one of the very few naturally-aspirated (i.e., non-turbo, non-supercharged)
engines which develops 100 horsepower per litre of displacement. It weighs within a kilogram of the former M5's engine. And
despite its prodigious output, it passes the stringent European EU4 and American LEV 2 emissions standards.
Gets better fuel economy than before too.
In other words, genuine progress across the board.
The M5 V10 has a 90-degree angle between banks of cylinders. According to BMW engineers, there is no absolute ideal angle
for a V10. Their Formula One engine has a 72 degree angle, but of course that engine is designed for low centre of gravity and
ultimate performance; any wayward unbalanced forces can simply be ignored.
90 degrees apparently does a good enough job of smoothing things out. The extra firing impulses of ten as opposed to only eight
cylinders help here too.
Does this design also mean it'd be duck soup to chop a cylinder off each bank and make a 4.0-litre, 400 horsepower V8 for the
next-generation M3?
"Zair are no planz", said a slightly embarrassed engineer.
Thousands wouldn't believe him, and l'm one of them...
Sequential Manual Shifting Only
The M5 will be offered only with a seven-speed SMG (Sequential Manual Gearbox) transmission, i.e., a proper gearbox with an
automatically-engaged and -released clutch, whose gears can shift themselves automatically, as opposed to an automatic whose
ratios can be swapped manually.
Why no pure manually-shifted option? Because to keep the transmission as light and compact as possible, the gears which
transmit the greatest torque - the lower ratios plus reverse - are placed closest to the walls of the casing, which is the strongest
part. If they were to make a conventional manual shift version, the shift gate would have had "2 - 6 - 5 - R" across the top, and
"4 - 7 - 3 - 1" across the bottom, virtually impossible for any driver to manage with a conventional shifter.
The new SMG shifts in as little as 60 milliseconds, some 20 per cent faster than before; so quickly that occupants' bodies barely
have time to rock forward and back again when the gears are changed. Faster, yet smoother: Clever.
Eleven separate shift programs are manually-selectable; in automatic mode, wherein the gearbox shifts all by itself, you have five
choices, each delivering successively faster shifts, depending on whether you wish more comfort or more performance.
In manual mode, you invoke the shifts yourself, either by push/pulling on the console-mounted lever, or via steering-wheel
paddles.
Again, five levels of shift speed are available.
Ready for the Launch?
The eleventh program is called "launch control". Select Manual shift mode; deactivate DSC (Directional Stability Control) which
enables a sixth shift speed level; hold the shift lever full-forward; then floor the throttle.
The engine revs to about four grand and stays there until you release the lever.
When you do so, hang on - the car executes a perfect drag-racing start, and flings you down the road. Just before the engine hits
the 8,250 rpm red line, the SMG automatically catches the next gear, allowing the driver to keep both hands on the wheel.
Good idea; hyper-space is just down the road.
A variable torque-sensing locking differential optimizes traction, especially in low-grip conditions - M drivers tend to drive their
cars year-round.
The suspension concept is similar to the 5-Series, but has been re-thought for higher performance. Three-level dampers allow
selection of comfort, normal or sport settings, each successively stiffer.
All this is reined in by massive 374 x 36 mm discs up front, 370 x 24 in the rear, with ABS, CBC (Cornering Brake Control) and
all the other alphabet soup of modern brake technology.
Discreet Body Language
This almighty set of mechanical gubbins is fitted into the ungainly 5-Series body which has been modified only in subtle but
functional ways - ostentation for its own sake has never been part of the "M" regimen.
A new front apron improves intake air cooling; a new rear apron allows under-body air to escape more easily for better
aerodynamics, and to enable four lovely chrome-tipped exhaust pipes.
Discreet badging, new side-view mirrors, revised side skirts and re-contoured wheel wells to accommodate the 255/40 ZR19
front / 285/35 ZR19 Continental Super Contact tires on unique ten-spoke alloy wheels complete the exterior 'mods'.
Too bad they left the wheels in an aluminium finish - the matte black units we saw on earlier test mules looked absolutely wicked.
Too bad too, that for most onlookers, the car still fails to excite visually.
Inside, seats with more support, a revised centre console, a new steering wheel with additional controls for unique-to-M5
functions and specific trim and colour options distinguish the M5 from its lesser brethren.
Again, too bad they haven't found a way to upgrade the trim materials. Come on, people - Audi is just a few kilometres up the
Autobahn in Ingolstadt; can't you find out where they buy their plastics?
Cleared for Take Off
The opening movement of the symphony of tests BMW laid on us for this magnificent motor car was on a military air field near
Fürstenfeldbruck, west of Munich.
We were told to utilize the launch control program, and when we got to the 300 metre sign, to start thinking about using the
brakes.
Uh, sure.
The launch is pretty violent. Moderate wheelspin ensures optimum get-away.
The gears slam into position. The rear tires still chirp loudly heading into third.
The odd but intoxicating V10 bellow from the exhaust is music to the ears of any gear-head.
Fourth, fifth, sixth: The thing keeps hauling like a 747 on a taxiway.
Except we have no joystick to pull back on to gain altitude. We're flying below the radar.
Seventh gear: Now the engine seems to have stopped pulling. The top speed limiter is "soft" - it comes in very gently. The
head-up speed display briefly flashes 269 km/h then settles back to 268. Some testers report 270 - I presume there's some
variance in these pre-production test cars. Top speed is supposed to be limited to 250 km/h, so maybe BMW has tweaked
these cars for press testing.
Nearing the end of the runway, off in the distance, we see the cones marking the end of our flight. Where is that 300 metre sign,
anyway? We're getting awfully close. I have gone faster than this before, but either on a race track or an Autobahn, where you
have reason to expect the pavement will continue. There's a field out here somewhere, a furrow in which I really don't want to
plow.
OK, chicken-out time. Toss out the anchors.
The car comes to a complete stop, seat back and tray table in the full upright and locked position, well before the terminal
building - and well before that 300 metre sign.
It will take three more runs before my brain can convince my right foot to stay in it...
Needless to say, the brakes are sensational; not only on the first stop, but on each of the seven or eight shots we take at this
exercise. Believe me, not many production cars could survive this many 268-0 km/h face-against-the-windshield stops, and still
be up for a 255 km meander through some of southern Germany's most scenic roads.
It is an alarmingly impressive performance.
Even on the famed speed-limit-free Autobahns, there aren't many places where you can fully utilize the M5's awesome
acceleration - too much traffic. But even with Germany's short-by-our-standards on-ramps, you can get up to speed and into the
traffic flow in a heartbeat in an M5.
SMG a Convincing Choice
I'm definitely in the minority of auto scribes in that I rather like the SMG transmission concept. It definitely makes for
higher-performance shifting, and isn't that what high-performance cars are all about?
Besides, if it's good enough for Michael Schumacher...
Decelerating and shifting down through the box with the steering wheel paddles is particularly entertaining, as the mechanism
automatically blips the throttle before engaging the next-lower gear, emitting a satisfying "blatt" from the tailpipes.
Smooth as silk.
True, even a klutz can look and sound like a true pro. But the point of a fine piece of machinery is flatter its owner, not to
embarrass him.
The SMG can still be fooled, however. Bang on the gas when it's in the middle of doing something, and it seems to lose
concentration, resulting in nothing happening at all for what seems like an eternity.
When you're trying to pull off a three-point turn on a German highway to take advantage of a briefly-spotted photo op, and a
Turkish transport truck is bearing down on you, a half-second feels like an eternity. In cases like this, you'd have more complete
and direct control with a pure manual transmission.
It will be interesting to see how M5 customers, who tend to view themselves as 'way better than average drivers, react to not
even being offered the manual-shift option.
Bottom Line
Given what we knew about the new M5's power before we arrived at this event, its performance wasn't really a surprise. Nor
was its handling, although I have never been a huge fan of Servotronic steering which doesn't transmit as much feedback as I'd
like. At least the M5 doesn't offer the "active" steering from the regular 5-Series; that system is quick all right, but feels unnatural,
and would be unacceptable in a high-performance car like this.
What is truly impressive about the M5 is how comfortable it is. There are distinct differences in ride quality with the firmer
damper settings, but - at least to the degree that the beautifully-maintained German roads could challenge the suspension - at all
times the car was composed and smooth.
As I said about the very first M5 back in 1984: you can drag-race a Corvette from a stoplight, chase a Porsche down a winding
road, or take three friends to the opera, and this car is equally at home in all three applications.
If the M5 is not worth its $125,000 price tag (my guess), then what car is?
Damn, I want one
The link has been down for part of the day so I've added the text below
http://en.autos.sympatico.msn.ca/adv...e&pos=editlead
An All-New BMW M5
With 507-hp V10 engine
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall rating: 9.5 / 10
Pros
- A 507-horsepower V10 - what more need there really be said?
- OK, then: the newest M5 has handling and brakes to match.
- With gobs of luxury and comfort thrown in for good measure.
Cons
- Styling still a sore point for most.
- The best never comes cheap.
- Quality of the interior trim is not quite up to rest of the car.
Simply the World's
Most Potent Sports Sedan
Power corrupts?
Then corrupt me, baby...
To the tune of 507 horsepower.
That's in Germany; when the new BMW M5 comes to North America in September 2005 - yes, you'll have to wait almost a
whole year - it'll probably be advertised at a more conservative 500. Oh, darn.
Still, the 5.0-litre V10 will be potent enough to motivate this car from rest to 100 km/h in about 4.7 seconds. In a luxury sedan
that can accommodate four people in Grand Luxe comfort.
Holy cow !
How can we justify power like that in a world where we're constantly worrying about where our next barrel of crude oil is
coming from?
Just that we never really know where progress is going to take us. More powerful engines today may lead to more fuel-efficient
and cleaner engines tomorrow.
Breakthrough Engine Technology
In fact, the new M5's powerplant represents breakthroughs at several levels. It generates over 25 per cent more power out of the
same displacement as the previous M5's V8. It is one of the very few naturally-aspirated (i.e., non-turbo, non-supercharged)
engines which develops 100 horsepower per litre of displacement. It weighs within a kilogram of the former M5's engine. And
despite its prodigious output, it passes the stringent European EU4 and American LEV 2 emissions standards.
Gets better fuel economy than before too.
In other words, genuine progress across the board.
The M5 V10 has a 90-degree angle between banks of cylinders. According to BMW engineers, there is no absolute ideal angle
for a V10. Their Formula One engine has a 72 degree angle, but of course that engine is designed for low centre of gravity and
ultimate performance; any wayward unbalanced forces can simply be ignored.
90 degrees apparently does a good enough job of smoothing things out. The extra firing impulses of ten as opposed to only eight
cylinders help here too.
Does this design also mean it'd be duck soup to chop a cylinder off each bank and make a 4.0-litre, 400 horsepower V8 for the
next-generation M3?
"Zair are no planz", said a slightly embarrassed engineer.
Thousands wouldn't believe him, and l'm one of them...
Sequential Manual Shifting Only
The M5 will be offered only with a seven-speed SMG (Sequential Manual Gearbox) transmission, i.e., a proper gearbox with an
automatically-engaged and -released clutch, whose gears can shift themselves automatically, as opposed to an automatic whose
ratios can be swapped manually.
Why no pure manually-shifted option? Because to keep the transmission as light and compact as possible, the gears which
transmit the greatest torque - the lower ratios plus reverse - are placed closest to the walls of the casing, which is the strongest
part. If they were to make a conventional manual shift version, the shift gate would have had "2 - 6 - 5 - R" across the top, and
"4 - 7 - 3 - 1" across the bottom, virtually impossible for any driver to manage with a conventional shifter.
The new SMG shifts in as little as 60 milliseconds, some 20 per cent faster than before; so quickly that occupants' bodies barely
have time to rock forward and back again when the gears are changed. Faster, yet smoother: Clever.
Eleven separate shift programs are manually-selectable; in automatic mode, wherein the gearbox shifts all by itself, you have five
choices, each delivering successively faster shifts, depending on whether you wish more comfort or more performance.
In manual mode, you invoke the shifts yourself, either by push/pulling on the console-mounted lever, or via steering-wheel
paddles.
Again, five levels of shift speed are available.
Ready for the Launch?
The eleventh program is called "launch control". Select Manual shift mode; deactivate DSC (Directional Stability Control) which
enables a sixth shift speed level; hold the shift lever full-forward; then floor the throttle.
The engine revs to about four grand and stays there until you release the lever.
When you do so, hang on - the car executes a perfect drag-racing start, and flings you down the road. Just before the engine hits
the 8,250 rpm red line, the SMG automatically catches the next gear, allowing the driver to keep both hands on the wheel.
Good idea; hyper-space is just down the road.
A variable torque-sensing locking differential optimizes traction, especially in low-grip conditions - M drivers tend to drive their
cars year-round.
The suspension concept is similar to the 5-Series, but has been re-thought for higher performance. Three-level dampers allow
selection of comfort, normal or sport settings, each successively stiffer.
All this is reined in by massive 374 x 36 mm discs up front, 370 x 24 in the rear, with ABS, CBC (Cornering Brake Control) and
all the other alphabet soup of modern brake technology.
Discreet Body Language
This almighty set of mechanical gubbins is fitted into the ungainly 5-Series body which has been modified only in subtle but
functional ways - ostentation for its own sake has never been part of the "M" regimen.
A new front apron improves intake air cooling; a new rear apron allows under-body air to escape more easily for better
aerodynamics, and to enable four lovely chrome-tipped exhaust pipes.
Discreet badging, new side-view mirrors, revised side skirts and re-contoured wheel wells to accommodate the 255/40 ZR19
front / 285/35 ZR19 Continental Super Contact tires on unique ten-spoke alloy wheels complete the exterior 'mods'.
Too bad they left the wheels in an aluminium finish - the matte black units we saw on earlier test mules looked absolutely wicked.
Too bad too, that for most onlookers, the car still fails to excite visually.
Inside, seats with more support, a revised centre console, a new steering wheel with additional controls for unique-to-M5
functions and specific trim and colour options distinguish the M5 from its lesser brethren.
Again, too bad they haven't found a way to upgrade the trim materials. Come on, people - Audi is just a few kilometres up the
Autobahn in Ingolstadt; can't you find out where they buy their plastics?
Cleared for Take Off
The opening movement of the symphony of tests BMW laid on us for this magnificent motor car was on a military air field near
Fürstenfeldbruck, west of Munich.
We were told to utilize the launch control program, and when we got to the 300 metre sign, to start thinking about using the
brakes.
Uh, sure.
The launch is pretty violent. Moderate wheelspin ensures optimum get-away.
The gears slam into position. The rear tires still chirp loudly heading into third.
The odd but intoxicating V10 bellow from the exhaust is music to the ears of any gear-head.
Fourth, fifth, sixth: The thing keeps hauling like a 747 on a taxiway.
Except we have no joystick to pull back on to gain altitude. We're flying below the radar.
Seventh gear: Now the engine seems to have stopped pulling. The top speed limiter is "soft" - it comes in very gently. The
head-up speed display briefly flashes 269 km/h then settles back to 268. Some testers report 270 - I presume there's some
variance in these pre-production test cars. Top speed is supposed to be limited to 250 km/h, so maybe BMW has tweaked
these cars for press testing.
Nearing the end of the runway, off in the distance, we see the cones marking the end of our flight. Where is that 300 metre sign,
anyway? We're getting awfully close. I have gone faster than this before, but either on a race track or an Autobahn, where you
have reason to expect the pavement will continue. There's a field out here somewhere, a furrow in which I really don't want to
plow.
OK, chicken-out time. Toss out the anchors.
The car comes to a complete stop, seat back and tray table in the full upright and locked position, well before the terminal
building - and well before that 300 metre sign.
It will take three more runs before my brain can convince my right foot to stay in it...
Needless to say, the brakes are sensational; not only on the first stop, but on each of the seven or eight shots we take at this
exercise. Believe me, not many production cars could survive this many 268-0 km/h face-against-the-windshield stops, and still
be up for a 255 km meander through some of southern Germany's most scenic roads.
It is an alarmingly impressive performance.
Even on the famed speed-limit-free Autobahns, there aren't many places where you can fully utilize the M5's awesome
acceleration - too much traffic. But even with Germany's short-by-our-standards on-ramps, you can get up to speed and into the
traffic flow in a heartbeat in an M5.
SMG a Convincing Choice
I'm definitely in the minority of auto scribes in that I rather like the SMG transmission concept. It definitely makes for
higher-performance shifting, and isn't that what high-performance cars are all about?
Besides, if it's good enough for Michael Schumacher...
Decelerating and shifting down through the box with the steering wheel paddles is particularly entertaining, as the mechanism
automatically blips the throttle before engaging the next-lower gear, emitting a satisfying "blatt" from the tailpipes.
Smooth as silk.
True, even a klutz can look and sound like a true pro. But the point of a fine piece of machinery is flatter its owner, not to
embarrass him.
The SMG can still be fooled, however. Bang on the gas when it's in the middle of doing something, and it seems to lose
concentration, resulting in nothing happening at all for what seems like an eternity.
When you're trying to pull off a three-point turn on a German highway to take advantage of a briefly-spotted photo op, and a
Turkish transport truck is bearing down on you, a half-second feels like an eternity. In cases like this, you'd have more complete
and direct control with a pure manual transmission.
It will be interesting to see how M5 customers, who tend to view themselves as 'way better than average drivers, react to not
even being offered the manual-shift option.
Bottom Line
Given what we knew about the new M5's power before we arrived at this event, its performance wasn't really a surprise. Nor
was its handling, although I have never been a huge fan of Servotronic steering which doesn't transmit as much feedback as I'd
like. At least the M5 doesn't offer the "active" steering from the regular 5-Series; that system is quick all right, but feels unnatural,
and would be unacceptable in a high-performance car like this.
What is truly impressive about the M5 is how comfortable it is. There are distinct differences in ride quality with the firmer
damper settings, but - at least to the degree that the beautifully-maintained German roads could challenge the suspension - at all
times the car was composed and smooth.
As I said about the very first M5 back in 1984: you can drag-race a Corvette from a stoplight, chase a Porsche down a winding
road, or take three friends to the opera, and this car is equally at home in all three applications.
If the M5 is not worth its $125,000 price tag (my guess), then what car is?
Banned
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 5,328
Likes: 0
From: Toronto
It’s getting out of hand actually. Where are you going to seriously use this car to its full potential? Even on a race track, you need a real pro to bring the best out of this thing. I wouldn't waste my money on it.
If it attention you want, just get a body kit and logos to your normal 5 Series look like a M5.
If it attention you want, just get a body kit and logos to your normal 5 Series look like a M5.