BMW M5: Goodwood debut

The fifth generation M5, BMW’s sizzling high performance saloon, will be revealed to UK petrolheads at next month’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. It will go on sale here in November 2011 at a price of £73,040 OTR.

Running from July 1-3, BMW plans to show off the latest M5, the culmination of more than a quarter of a century of automotive excitement. The tradition of combing track car dynamics and touring comfort in a premium saloon has proven very successful for BMW.

The latest incarnation will have the most powerful engine ever conceived by the M division along with a racing chassis, the new Active M differential and electronic damping control. In a first for the M line-up, this M5 will feature a twin-turbocharged power unit - a rev-tastic 4.4-litre V8 that pumps out 560bhp and 680Nm of torque - that is 10% more power and 30% more torque than the previous V10-engined M5. BMW is promising “seamless lag-free delivery” - it will rocket up from 0-62mph in 4.4 seconds and can hit 124mph in 13 seconds with an electronically limited top speed of 155mph.

Adding to the lag-free delivery is a highly advanced gearbox, the sensational seven-speed M Double Clutch Transmission Drivelogic, along with automatic start-stop and, just like in F1 cars, a brake energy regeneration system.

Performance cars are seldom known for Prius-like consumption and this M5 is probably not going to be the Greenpeace car of choice any time soon but fuel economy has been improved on the newest model. It has been reduced by 30% on the last model and now stands at 28.5mpg. CO2 emissions are 232g/km.

As well as the UK launch of the new M5, other BMW attractions at Goodwood will be Le Mans ace Dirk Muller driving the BMW Z4 GT3, the M3 GTS taking on the hillclimb and the BMW 328 and M3 sharing an anniversary, albeit 50 years apart.



BMW Z4 GT3 on the Goodwood track with Dirk Muller (racing driver name!) behind the wheel



BMW 328, but not as we know it



BMW M3 GTS – orangey-BOOM!


By Georgia Lewis

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