BMW M5 revealed
The bar on automotive overkill has been raised again with the release of details about the latest iteration of BMW's M5 super sedan.
According to the Munich-based firm, the V10-powered M5 will go from 0 to 100 kmh in 4.7 seconds on the way to a top speed of 330 kmh, though to honor an agreement it has in Europe BMW will limit the car's top speed highway speed to 250 kmh.
The car that is sometimes called the ''business man's express'' in Europe uses BMW's first-ever V10 (which is normally aspirated) to develop 507 hp, which puts the car in the rarefied category of vehicles that has 100 hp for each litre of engine displacement.
That power is needed to reach the kind of maximum highway speed that the M5 will achieve, which doesn't do you much good on North America roads.
Torque is more important here since we have to make do with quick launches, and on that front BMW has only come up with about 390 lb.-ft.
''These are figures that speak for themselves,'' says BMW, and ''In an unprecedented way, these figures blur the lines between a car for everyday use and a vehicle for ambitious motor sport racing.''
BMW calls this version of the 20-year-old M5 concept an ''extreme athlete,'' with ''its subtle appearance and the seemingly endless power of its ten-cylinder high-revving engine, which interacts perfectly with the seven-speed SMG gearbox and introduces the driver to completely new dimensions of effortlessness.''
BMW claims that the M5 beats out other super sedans from Audi, Jaguar and Mercedes because it has ''the most innovative drive concept, the best power-to-weight ratio, supreme handling and excellent everyday driving qualities. It is a fully roadworthy saloon with the heart of an athlete, a sports car which is perfectly suited for everyday motoring. The new M5 skilfully combines these two virtues.''
The heart of the M5 is of course the V10, but BMW likes to point out that there is more to it than pure performance. ''What is important for M automobiles is acceleration and driving dynamics, the latter which is dependent on the actual forward thrust and the vehicle's weight. The drive forces at the driven wheels are significantly influenced by the engine torque and the total ratio. The high-revving concept caters for an optimum transmission and rear-axle ratio, thus guaranteeing an impressive forward thrust.''
For the BMW M engineers, the compact, high-revving normally aspirated engine is said to be ''the ideal choice. With a red line of 8,250 rpm, the ten-cylinder engine has ventured into terrain which has so far been reserved for red-blooded racing cars. Compared to the previous M5 eight-cylinder engine, performance has increased by more than 25 percent.''
The two five-cylinder banks of the V10 are arranged at an angle of 90° to achieve a mass balance of the crankshaft drive, says BMW, ''which is optimised for low vibration and increased comfort. For reasons of stiffness and due to the high loads resulting from combustion pressure, engine speed and vibrations, a bedplate design has been chosen for the crankcase, the first-ever application in a production V engine by BMW.''