Tuesday 19th April 2011

New M5 Gets Show Debut In Shanghai

It's called a concept, but this is near-as-dammit BMW's new M super-saloon

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BMW has finally given its fifth-generation M5 its first public unveiling at the Shanghai motor show.

Although still officially a concept, what you see here is effectively the production version of the new M car, even though that won't make a public appearance until the Frankfurt motor show in September.

Sadly, the high-revving naturally aspirated V10 has gone, replaced by a twin-turbo, 4.4-litre V8 (as seen in the X5 M and X6 M.

The new M5 makes 552bhp and 510lb ft from its 4395cc turbocharged V8. That's 52bhp up and 126lb ft better than the old V10, which should be some compensation for fans of natural aspiration. The 'S63' motor has also undergone some tweakery to its induction and exhausts for more top-end power and a sharper response than the X5 M and X6 M provide.

Power is driven to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, although word is that an all-wheel-drive version is currently being mulled-over by BMW.

The new M5 should, says BMW, improve fuel economy by 25 per cent over the previous model, thanks in large part to regenerative braking tech and a stop-start function, while the use of carbon fibre and aluminium should help to keep the weight of the new F10 model roughly on a par with the old E60 version, despite the new car being larger

Visually, the M5 is as subtle as you'd expect (wheels notwithstanding), although the mildly pumped wheel arches are actually a departure for M cars, which don't usually feature reprofiled bodywork. At the rear are a small lip spoiler and an underbody diffuser, both of which help to increase downforce at speed.

 

[Sivraj]

The new 5 hasnt settled with me yet but I do love M5's and turbo's!!!

[Sivraj]

johnpeat said:

Friend of mine suffers a company supplied Corsa with 'start-stop' and he's spotted a nasty little trick which the dealer denies is a fault.

Let's say you're an aggressive driver, the sort who comes upto junctions quickly, braking hard whilst waiting to see if you have a clear run out - and that the junction in question is at the bottom of a decently steep hill.

He comes upto a couple of such junctions quite often and what's he's done a few times now is actually stop the car (or near as dammit) but then sees the junction is clear so releases the brakes and returns to the gas.

In that gap as his foot is moving and the engine is responding to the throttle movement, the car has picked-up a bit of speed from the slope and as it crosses the line into the junction it - cuts out - leaving him coasting into the middle of the junction with no power...

He assumed it was a fault - Vauxhall dealer says it's him being 'over aggressive in a car designed for economy' and that he should 'hold the car on the brakes until he's ready to pull out'...

His colleagues all get the same cars and a couple have had similar incidents. I should say there's a bit of 'driving it like you stole it' here (he's got targets!!) - he even managed to demonstate it to me, so it's not a random glitch.

It just seems that the car doesn't know if it's perfectly stationary and it can cut the engine when you're moving quite slowly (and in this case, accelerating due to the slope) too...

I've never experienced a stop/start system myself but I was told that the vehicle would need to be stationary for more than 30-60 seconds before the system kicked in,
Have to say I would not be happy living within with the system you describe!