The newest version of the quintessential high-performance sports sedan officially launched today, as BMW took off the wraps from the 2018 BMW M5. Since 1984, the BMW M5 has been the benchmark for drivers who needed a spacious four-door sedan with uncompromised performance and handling on the street and on the track. The new, sixth-generation M5 debuts the new model, but also premieres new technology never built into a BMW M car before that has some purists wondering if the new M5 will feel like previous M cars. That new technology is M xDrive all-wheel drive.
Frank van Meel is Chairman of the Board of Management at BMW M GmbH, and he watched over the development of M xDrive, which has some distinct differences from the usual BMW xDrive. Van Meel explained, “Thanks to M xDrive, the all-new BMW M5 can be piloted with the familiar blend of sportiness and unerring accuracy both on the racetrack 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 on wet roads or snow.”
The default mode when the new M5 is started is all-wheel drive with Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) turned on. The driver may then select from a number of driving dynamics modes including rear-wheel drive with no DSC. Other than having to consciously select this mode, the fact that the driver can make the new M5 a rear-wheel drive car without traction control should calm the fears of M purists. This M5 will drift and do donuts and anything else that last M5 could do.
In fact, drifts and donuts should be easier to start since under the hood, the 2018 BMW M5 has an advanced version of the 4.4-liter BMW TwinPower turbo V8. How advanced? The new engine will crank out 600 horsepower—that's 40 more than the old one—and 553 pound-feet of torque—a 53 pound-feet bump from the previous M5. M engineers developed new turbos with higher boost and upped the maximum injection pressure by 75 percent to get shorter injection times and better fuel atomization, which translates into more efficient and sharper engine response. The lubrication and cooling systems have also been reworked and are more effective while being smaller and tuned to work better under lateral and longitudinal acceleration.
One area in which those M purists may be disappointed is the drivetrain component immediately behind the engine. The only transmission choice is the new eight-speed M Steptronic automatic transmission with Drivelogic. We know that some folks desperately wanted a manual transmission option and we would have liked to see one, too. However, the paddle shifters help soften the blow.
The other thing that might make us forget there's no manual gearbox is that with the eight-speed M Steptronic, the F90 M5 goes from zero to 60 miles per hour in 3.2 seconds. That's not a typo. It's 3.2 seconds, which makes it the quickest M5 ever.
By the way, if your zero-to-60 time happens too fast and you want to enjoy that speed rush for a longer period, you may want to find a track or a deserted stretch of salt flats to confirm that your new M5 will go from zero to 124 miles per hour in 11.1 seconds.
Helping out with performance in the new M5 is the car's weight-loss program. For example, a Helmholtz resonator between the two silencers of the dual exhaust system cuts weight by 11 pounds and still allows for very cool noise with the M Sound Control button. Other examples include the aluminum hood and the carbon fiber roof.
To handle the added power, especially in two-wheel drive, BMW M reinforced the drivetrain. The Active M Differential distributes the drive flow between the rear wheels by varying the locking effect as the situation demands. When in M xDrive mode, the all-wheel drive system only sends stabilizing interventions from the DSC in extreme situations and a certain amount of slip when accelerating out of corners is available. Drivers who enjoy leaving a corner a little tail happy should not be disappointed with the new M5
BMW M built the new 8-speed M Steptronic transmission with Drivelogic to handle the high performance and still optimize fuel efficiency. The torque converter lock-up clutch fully engages once the car has moved off. Near-instantaneous gear changes with optimal gear ratio spacing will make shifts faster than a driver could perform with a manual gearbox, and while that may not make a traditionalist happy, it will make for faster shifts and everything those bring. For more effortless driving, there is a totally automatic shift mode in addition to the sequential gearshifts using the gear selector on the console or the M shift paddles.
BMW M developed new chassis technology for the F90 M5, then tweaked and tested it a Miramas in France and of course, on the Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany. Drivers can configure the car's setup by choosing driving modes that adjust the dampers, transmission, M xDrive, and M Servotronic steering.
Nineteen-inch, five-double-spoke cast light alloy wheels in Orbit Gray are standard on the new M5, and are shod with 275/40 R 19 tires at the front and 285/40 R 19 at the rear. Twenty-inch seven-double-spoke wheels in black or polished black are optional. All tires are ZR speed rated, which is rather essential especially if you get the optional M Driver's Package that ups the electronic speed limiter from 155 to 189 miles per hour.
A car that can accelerate this fast needs to be able to stop at least as quickly, so the new M5 comes standard with M compound brakes that are lighter than conventional cast-iron components. Lighter still are the optional M carbon-ceramic brakes with gold-colored, M logo'd six-piston fixed calipers in front and single-piston floating calipers in the rear, resulting in a 50.7 pound reduction of unsprung and rotating masses.
Next to the shifter paddles on the M sports steering wheel are two red buttons marked M1 and M2. With these, drivers can configure two individual setups, including M xDrive, DSC, engine, transmission, damper, and steering characteristics, as well as the appearance of M view in the Head-Up Display.
Inside, the F90 M5 gets Extended Merino leather as standard. The M Multifunctional seats have electric adjustment, seat heating, electric adjustment for the seat depth, and a pneumatic backrest width adjustment. Head restraints are integral and sport an illuminated M5 logo.
All those driver assistance systems that make the G30 5 Series a class leader in technology are also available in the new M5.
Once the configurator goes live on the BMWUSA.com web site, you will be able to see all the available colors. Some of them will be exclusive to the M5, such as Marina Bay Blue Metallic, an intense shade of blue. Interior trim will have exclusive aluminum with a carbon structure.
The all-new 2018 BMW M5 will be available at BMW dealerships in spring of 2018, with pricing to be announced closer to market launch. It won't be cheap, but based on the previous five generations of M5s, it will be worth it.—Scott Blazey
[Photos courtesy of BMW AG.]
