M car enthusiasts are familiar with Competition Packages by now. The E46 M3 CS was a Comp Pack in other markets, it was a very popular option for the V8 M3s, it noticeably improved the current model and it also provided a boost to 575hp for the previous generation M5.
Now it looks like the new M5 is going to get a Comp Pack too, the upgrade coming remarkably early in its production cycle, what with the first customer cars having only recently been delivered. Is it an admission that BMW wasn't content with the standard car? Seems unlikely given how well it has been received, but the timing remains unconventional by BMW's standards.
To the details. Thus far there is nothing official, only the info that has been disclosed on Bimmerpost by an Australian customer. It's worth nothing from the off that this F90 follows the trend of previous Competition Packs; it could be easy to mistake it for a more serious overhaul with the M2 Competition's recent release (and engine change), but 'Competition' and 'Competition Pack' are very different things in the BMW M world.
The significant changes for this M5 CP are a power hike from the standard 600hp to 625hp, a sports exhaust, revised suspension settings and new wheels. The less significant updates are the black badging, black grilles, black boot lip spoiler, Competition illuminated door sills and, finally, the M Carbon Engine Cover. Although that's £1,025 of added value all by itself...
Performance figures from a now unpublished web page suggested the M5 Competition Package would be capable of 3.3 seconds to 62mph and 124mph in 10.8 seconds; an M Driver's Package permits a 189mph top speed.
According to this very knowledgeable Antipodean source, full info on the car is coming on May 8th, production will begin in July and first deliveries are in September. The price in Australia is 229,000 dollars, which at the current exchange rate is £126,000. However, fear not; the Bimmerpost source says it represents the same price premium as the last M5 Comp Pack. Applying that logic (i.e. the £6,500 a Competition Pack cost on an F10 M5) would leave the new car at £95,000, there or thereabouts. Full details as they're available...
[Source: Bimmerpost, via CarThrottle, additional M5 pics by Luc Lacey]
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