RE: BMW M Performance Parts launched for i5 Touring

RE: BMW M Performance Parts launched for i5 Touring

Monday 6th May

BMW M Performance Parts launched for i5 Touring

Want to stand out from the new 5 Series wagon crowd? BMW has just the thing...


Just last week we showed you what tuning giant AC Schnitzer had come up with for anyone hoping to modify the look of the latest 5 Series; now it’s BMW’s turn to break out the ‘aerodynamic, interior and suspension retrofit products’ - only this time it’s the new 5 Series Touring that gets a customised nip and a tuck courtesy of Original BMW Accessories. And the i5 Touring too, of course, which is good news if you’re inclined to make your 601hp M60 look a bit more, erm, spunky. 

In terms of exterior add-ons, which all herald from the M Performance department, these pretty much conform to type. So think three-piece splitter, side sill attachments, mirror caps and roof spoiler. Most of these come in lacquered CFRP, although, interestingly, some are made from Aramid-reinforced plastic, a synthetic fibre composite similar to Kevlar. These include the aerial cover (apparently it has a higher electromagnetic permeability than CFRP) and the inevitably chunkier three-piece rear diffuser. 

You can also get M Performance accent stripes in Frozen Black if you really must, along with side sill decals. And if you’re really intent on pushing the boat out, there are customisable door sill trims to choose from, as well as interchangeable LED door projector graphics. It says much about the limited interior options (the cabin already being well catered for in the standard configurator) that we’re inclined to like the new M Performance floor mats the most, which look very fetching with contrast stitching and tri-colour theme. The less said about items like the M Performance fuel filler cap the better. 

In chassis terms, the most interesting hardware change of note is the M Performance 20-inch brake system, which is said to ‘look particularly distinctive in conjunction with the open rim design of the 21-inch light alloy wheels’. Which is probably selling them short if they really are that ginormously big. Either way, you get six-piston calipers at the front and there are a host of new wheel designs and seasonal tyre choices to go around them, including the M Performance Cross Spoke alloys on the car pictured. No word on cost or availability yet, but expect to add a significant sum to the £99,995 starting price of an i5 M60 Touring. Or you could wait and see what the soon-to-be-revealed M5 Touring is like. 


Author
Discussion

Bencolem

Original Poster:

1,027 posts

240 months

Tuesday 7th May
quotequote all
“In chassis terms, the most interesting hardware change of note is the M Performance 20-inch brake system”

And yet I’m pretty sure they are not 20-inch brakes?

And overall the whole thing looks a mess. I’m out.

wistec1

306 posts

42 months

Tuesday 7th May
quotequote all
Normally some of the M Performance upgrades are quite good and fit very well but the rear defusers looks a proper mess on this. One can't help thinking BMWs money would have been better spent recruiting some new bods for their design studios which have lost the plot.

GTEYE

2,100 posts

211 months

Tuesday 7th May
quotequote all
That rear diffuser looks like it was designed in a kindergarten.

Actually that’s unkind to the kinder…

GTEYE

2,100 posts

211 months

Tuesday 7th May
quotequote all
That rear diffuser looks like it was designed in a kindergarten.

Actually that’s unkind to the kinder…

Augustus Windsock

3,384 posts

156 months

Tuesday 7th May
quotequote all
The old phrase “it’s like sticking lipstick on a pig” comes to mind…

David87

6,667 posts

213 months

Tuesday 7th May
quotequote all
The market for this kind of thing must be so incredibly tiny that I'm surprised they bother. Who, aside from dealers adding it to their showroom car, would actually shell out a load of cash for this stuff?

Dombilano

1,158 posts

56 months

Tuesday 7th May
quotequote all
Crusty sock spunky

GreatScott2016

1,223 posts

89 months

Tuesday 7th May
quotequote all
"Want to stand out from the new 5 Series wagon crowd?" Unfortunately, I think in most instances, you'd be "standing out" for the wrong reasons yikes

NicoG

648 posts

209 months

Tuesday 7th May
quotequote all
Am I the only one wondering how this "advert" for load of aftermarket ste has displaced the news of a new V12 Ferrari flagship from the headline spot on the PH homepage.

Jesus Christ rolleyes

E90_M3Ross

35,141 posts

213 months

Tuesday 7th May
quotequote all
GTEYE said:
That rear diffuser looks like it was designed in a kindergarten.

Actually that’s unkind to the kinder…
You can say that again hehe

LotusOmega375D

7,684 posts

154 months

Tuesday 7th May
quotequote all
NicoG said:
Am I the only one wondering how this "advert" for load of aftermarket ste has displaced the news of a new V12 Ferrari flagship from the headline spot on the PH homepage.

Jesus Christ rolleyes
Maybe BMW has sponsored PH for the month of May? Does seem to be a lot of features about them recently.

Tindersticks

86 posts

1 month

Tuesday 7th May
quotequote all
These have the weird effect of making the car look like it's about a foot higher off the ground. Nasty.

Jermy Claxon

2,993 posts

140 months

Tuesday 7th May
quotequote all
I like the wheels. Everything wheel-shaped has been getting a bit samey recently, or very aero-flat on EVs which I don't particularly like aesthetically. Those wheels are a little bit different, with the visual break on the spokes, almost 2 concentric parts. Nice.

The rest is different in a bad way.

9k rpm

523 posts

211 months

Tuesday 7th May
quotequote all
LotusMac22 said:
The people who plaster their car with m sport rubbish really give off ‘I live on a council estate’ energy
Agree. I’m surprised BMW haven’t launched their own black plastic wind deflectors for the windows to complete the look.

Every day a journey

1,636 posts

39 months

Tuesday 7th May
quotequote all
Turd polishing

Max M4X WW

4,801 posts

183 months

Tuesday 7th May
quotequote all
LotusMac22 said:
The people who plaster their car with m sport rubbish really give off ‘I live on a council estate’ energy
M Sport (I.E. the classic M badge) or M Performance? I doubt any of these bits (or the base car) are within many council estate budgets!

MadCaptainJack

691 posts

41 months

Tuesday 7th May
quotequote all
Pistonheads said:
You can also get M Performance accent stripes in Frozen Black if you really must…
rofl

86wasagoodyear

413 posts

97 months

Tuesday 7th May
quotequote all
LotusMac22 said:
The people who plaster their car with m sport rubbish really give off ‘I live on a council estate’ energy
No need for sneering at council estates. On the other hand, eye-rolling at all the M Sport rubbish is fully justified. So much expensive unnecessary heavyweight useless trash.

Justin-ow582

152 posts

106 months

Tuesday 7th May
quotequote all
As it's an EV, have the "go faster stripes" been redeveloped as "go further stripes"?

Seattaken

498 posts

50 months

Tuesday 7th May
quotequote all
86wasagoodyear said:
No need for sneering at council estates....
Indeed, tiresome.