Thursday 26th January 2012

BMW's M diesels: the official details

5-series, X6 and X5 tri-turbo M cars to be first offerings of M Performance sub-brand

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BMW has finally revealed the full details of its forthcoming range of diesel M cars, the first to come under the new 'M Performance Automobiles' banner and the first to get BMW's new extra-torquey tri-turbo diesel engines.

No M5 touring for now but you can have a 550d

First to arrive will be the £60,325 BMW X5 M50d and the £62,260 BMW X6 M50d, which both land in Blighty in June, while the M550d and M550d Touring (praise be - an M-badged 5-series wagon!!) launches in October.

All the diesel Ms will get the same version of the new treble-turbo Twinpower 3.0-litre straight-six diesel, an M-developed powerplant that effortlessly outpunches any previous diesel efforts from Bee-Em.

The key stats you'll need to remember for pub-talk ammo are 381hp, 545lb ft of torque (between 2,000 and 3,000rpm). Which is pretty impressive - and even more so when you consider that the 5-series version emits just 165g/km of CO2, the same as the 535d, but with almost 70hp more to offer.

Tri-turbo engine also in facelifted X6

That power and torque translates, via an eight-speed automatic gearbox, to 0-62mph in 5.4 seconds for the X5 and 5.3 seconds for the X6, while the M550d will manage the same sprint in 4.7 seconds for the saloon and 4.9 seconds for the Touring.

The diesel side of things, meanwhile, combines with BMW's now familiar Efficient Dynamics gubbins (stop-start, brake energy regeneration, etc) to provide impressive fuel economy figures. BMW claims 37.7mpg on the combined cycle for the X5, with the X6 managing 36.7mpg. The 5-series manages 44.7mpg in saloon form and 44.1mpg in estate shape.

Talking of xDrive, we understand that the M550d will only be available as the four-wheel-drive M550d xDrive model. Since BMW won't sell a 4wd 5-series in the UK, that means it'll be for left-hook continetal Europeans only.

X5 also gets the mighty new diesel

To justify the use of the hallowed M badge there are some dynamic tweaks too, with bespoke chassis settings, steering ratios and even some chassis bits and bobs taken from full-on M models.

Inside, bespoke stainless steel sill plates, leather-bound dashboards and M steering wheels and seats smarten up the ambience, while mild exterior styling tweaks set the cars apart from ordinary BMWs.

If you want to delve truly deeply into the nitty-gritty of the new M diesels' specs, please do so here.

M bits liven up 550d interior	Magic concealed beneath dull plastic cover

[fishman]

Lovely I definitely want one! Will have to wait until the touring 550d comes out

Edited by fishman on Thursday 26th January 11:29

[fishman]

k15tox said:

i sense this thread will spark great debate......

Yeap I bet my house on it that the usual Petrol vs Diesel crap kicks off. I must assume that the m550d will have a limited slip diff fitted otherwise there will quite a few in ditches and hedges!

[fishman]

thinfourth2 said:

I'm likeing the X6 with huge horsepower

It means i won't have to look at it for very long as it surges past me while carrying a fat person who has no understanding of the mathmatical relationship between torque and horsepower to his meeting where he will bore some poor bd to death while talking about his diesel while they both know that a car that powerful and expensive should have a petrol engine.





Of and 12 pages

O no someone has said it already.......TQ.........here we go again bla bla bla....

[fishman]

Trommel said:

M550d xDrive Touring is surely the pick of the bunch.

Yes so right you are I am seriously drooling for one of those bad boys!

[fishman]

mogjay said:

just further proof after the "British" clubman rear door , BMW is not committed to this country i know the engineering costs to convert the car to right hand drive may be alot , but couldnt they meet us half way and add a tuning kit for uk dealers to add more power to the 535d? the costs involved there would be very small indeed

really tired of companies giving up on our market or making shoddy conversion's to right hand drive cars , we buy so many new cars and at high price points , we deserve to be taken seriously even for the sake of showing respect to our market.

I suspect established after market tuners such as AC Schnitzer and Alpina will have good tuning packs for these models. As with most diesels a remap could be the cost effective answers for those oil burner owners who want a little more power.

[fishman]

thinfourth2 said:

its a little known fact that the X6 is so ugly because there is a small ugly generator fitted behind the back bumper.

This generator is very powerful and needs fuel to run it

haha the post cracks me up....yes the X6 is a very ugly design do they come with a paperbag to put over the drivers head because they look like a dogs vomit.