BMW Releases Its Long Anticipated M5 with a 507-HP V10

New V10 Learns Performance Tricks from BMW's F1 Experience

BMW teased well-heeled enthusiasts earlier this year in Geneva with the introduction of its M5 Concept (see Concept Car

BMW has finally made the new M5 official, and unsurprisingly it's identical to the "concept" unveiled earlier this year at Geneva. (Photo: BMW Canada)

section of this website: 2004 BMW M5 Concept), and as predicted the production car's lines won't deviate from the prototype. Even the wheels look identical, which makes a person wonder why the Bavarian automaker didn't just introduce the "concept" as a production car.

It must have been due to what lies under the skin, and by all accounts the potent mechanicals have made the wait worth every nail-biting moment. Nothing less than a 507 horsepower V10 resides under the hood, spinning to a stratospheric 8,250 rpm at redline.

Zero to 100 km/h sprints take less than five seconds while 200 km/h arrives after a mere 15 seconds at full throttle. The M5 gets an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph). If maximum speed was not

A 507 horsepower V10 powers the M5 from 0 to 100 km/h in less than five seconds. (Photo: BMW Canada)

electronically limited the M5 could reach 330 km/h (205 mph), or so BMW reports.

Putting power to the rear wheels is a new 7-speed SMG sequential manual gearbox with steering column mounted paddle actuation. As in the M3, gears can be selected via a console-mounted shift lever too, but in comparison to the outgoing SMG transmission the new version shifts 20 percent quicker. The SMG gearbox continues to use Drivelogic, but like the transmission itself the electronic add-on is completely upgraded from five specified shift intervals (from slow to fast) to eleven, allowing much more adaptation to a driver's personal preferences.