Any regular BMW car offers more than desired performance for an average car enthusiast in India. However, there’s no match for proper BMW M Performance cars like the M2 and M3. And now the Bavarian carmaker has launched what is believed to be the epitome of luxury performance road cars worldwide, in India.
BMW has launched the all-new M5 in India at a price of Rs 1.99 crore (ex-showroom). Based on the new-gen 5 Series launched earlier in July this year in the long wheelbase format, the new M5 comes to India as a fully-imported CBU model and is positioned above the M4 in the German marque’s international lineup.
BMW M5: Exterior highlights
The new model witnesses significant revisions over the previous generation model which was launched at Rs 1.62 crore (ex-showroom) in India in 2021. It also gets significant upgrades over the standard 5 Series both visually and functionally. Starting with its exterior, the M5 gets a more muscular and aggressive styling over the 5 Series, thanks to sculpted bumpers and flared wheel arches.
At the rear, the reprofiled bumper gets a two-section diffuser with gloss black-finished quad exhausts accentuating the sedan’s sporty look. It also benefits from a carbon fibre roof that reduces the weight of the car by more than 30 kg. Customers can opt for an optional panoramic sunroof although that adds 50 kg to the car’s mass. Additionally, the mirror caps are finished in carbon fibre. Finally, the M5 rolls on 20-inch front and 20-inch rear alloy wheels also finished in carbon fibre.
BMW M5: Interiors & Features
Inside the cabin, the layout remains the same although the M5 benefits from M-specific elements such as a flat-bottomed steering wheel, ambient lighting, and seats with an illuminated M5 logo. The dashboard houses fewer physical buttons but the centre console gets a few additional buttons to suit the needs of a performance car. It also gets a revised circular drive selector with a knurled finish.
The M5 boasts of BMW’s latest curved display comprising a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 14.9-inch central touchscreen infotainment both running on BMW OS 8.5. Other feature highlights include a head-up display, adaptive suspension, body hugging seats, wireless smartphone charging, four-zone automatic climate control, and an 18-speaker Bowers & Wilkins Surround Sound system to name a few.
BMW M5: Performance
Coming to the heart of the matter, the new BMW M5 is powered by a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 petrol engine assisted by an electric motor which combines to dish out a mammoth 717 bhp and 1000 Nm of peak torque. The combustion engine is capable of delivering 585 bhp and 750 Nm of peak torque by itself while the battery-powered setup develops 194 bhp and 280 Nm. Power is transmitted to all four wheels via an 8-speed Steptronic automatic transmission and BMW’s rear-biased xDrive all-wheel-drive system.
This translates into a mindboggling acceleration of 0 to 100 kmph in 3.5 seconds whereas 0 to 200 kmph can be breached at 10.9 seconds. Top speed of the new M5 is electronically limited to 250 kmph which can be extended to 305kph with the optional M Driver’s Package. The hybrid powertrain features an 18.6kWh battery pack which claims an electric-only range of 69 km, as per WLTP cycle.
In the all-electric mode, the M5 can hit a top speed of 140 kmph. The battery supports AC fast chagrin up to 7.4 kW. There are three drive modes on offer: Hybrid, Electric and eControl, the last option allows brake energy recuperation to maintain battery charge at a constant level. With such power on tap, M5 makes use of M compound brakes, and carbon ceramics but these are optional fitments.
