What more could you ask for than driving a new BMW M5 along the Nürburgring circuit? I believe the answer is the guts to take it to its limit. This car is simply a racing monster. The capabilities of this car are tremendous and yet you always feel secure and in-control even at high speeds as you make turns throughout the road. Driving this car requires you to have a good memory so that you can remember the experience forever.

Since 1984 the BMW M5 has been a standard-bearer for fast, high-performance sedans preferring not to shout about their sporting potential. The various generations of the BMW M5 have always possessed pure-bred racing genes and acquitted themselves impressively on the race track as well as on the road. The new BMW M5 represents the sixth generation of the super powered 5 Series. And, like those that have gone before it, the new model promises to continue BMW M GmbH’s record of building distinctive sports cars that really can be used every day.

The new BMW M5 (fuel consumption combined: 10.5 l/100 km [26.9 mpg imp]; CO2 emissions combined: 241 g/km) takes driving dynamics into a new dimension. Making its debut in the sixth generation of the high-performance sedan is the new M-specific all-wheel-drive system M xDrive. Not only does this drive system enable the M5 to reach new heights of dynamic performance, it means that it excels in terms of everyday practicality and delivers supreme poise in all driving conditions as well.

Frank van Meel, Chairman of the Board of Management at BMW M GmbH, explains the benefits of the pioneering drivetrain technology aboard the new BMW M5: “Thanks to M xDrive, the new BMW M5 can be piloted with the familiar blend of sportiness and unerring accuracy both on the race track and out on the open road, while also delighting drivers with its significantly enhanced directional stability and controllability right up to the limits of performance when driving in adverse conditions such as in the wet or snow.”

The car’s ability to juggle complete suitability for everyday use on the one hand and sheer driving pleasure and superb track performance on the other is down to the M xDrive system’s central intelligent control capability. When the engine is first started, the new BMW M5 will be in all-wheel-drive mode (4WD) with Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) switched on. The driver is then able to vary the handling characteristics of the M5 by activating various driving dynamics modes, including a rear-wheel-drive mode with no DSC. In this 2WD mode, the new BMW M5 allows accomplished drivers to enjoy a purebred form of driving pleasure.

Hard at work under the bonnet of the new BMW M5 is the latest and most advanced version of the 4.4-liter V8 engine featuring M TwinPower Turbo technology. Output of 441 kW/600 hp and peak torque of 750 Nm (553 lb-ft) promise supreme propulsive power and formidable performance. The twinturbo V8 unit propels the new M5 from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in a mere 3.4 seconds, for instance. The task of relaying the drive power falls to the new eight-speed M Steptronic transmission with Drivelogic, which teams up with the M xDrive system to transfer the high-revving engine’s turbocharged might 

“The BMW M5 has always embodied the perfect blend of mature business sedan and high-performance components. So, you can think of the BMW M5 as the world’s fastest-moving tailored suit.” These are the words chosen by Domagoj Dukec, Vice President of Design BMW i and BMW M, to sum up the brief for the new M5. Like all the models to come out of BMW M GmbH HQ in Garching, its design is M-specific and driven by function. For example, the newly designed front bumper trim, with its larger air intakes, has the task of keeping the cooling systems and brakes sufficiently supplied with cooling air, even in exacting use on the race track. The car has a wider track than its predecessor, and the front side panels (made from aluminum to save weight) bear the signature M gills.

Test Drive by: Amr Selim