(from BMW Press Release)
Precisely 20 years have already passed since the BMW M5 established a
new segment, which has in the meantime also been discovered by other car
manufacturers. And that car – the original – is still by far the most
successful player in the high performance sedan segment. Spread over
three generations of production, more than 35,000 units were built –
initially manually at the BMW M plant in Munich and later at the 5
Series assembly line in Dingolfing. These units were then sold
worldwide.
The secret of the BMW M5’s popularity has always been the successful
synthesis of unobtrusive yet powerful appearance, combined with a
high-performance power unit – a sports car featuring Formula 1
technology and at the same time a sedan offering premium comfort.
In terms of driving dynamics, the BMW M5 had always set standards in its
segment. It not only excelled due to its high performance, but due to
the way in which M power was produced and developed. It appeared as if
this first-rate car’s inexhaustible power reserves had created a totally
new dimension in effortlessness.
BMW M5 parameters: Performance, style and
driving fun.
Due to the change of model within the 5
Series, the BMW M product portfolio is currently presented without a BMW
M5, even though the demand for such a car has never diminished. For this
reason, BMW M designers have begun designing a possible successor based
on the new BMW 5 Series. This car is a far-reaching concept on an
appealing subject: the BMW Concept M5. Such a car could undoubtedly
serve as a stimulus and offer solutions for a future series-production
vehicle.
Totally in keeping with the high demands
of our clientele, whose main reasons for purchasing a car are
performance, style and driving fun, the BMW M5 Concept makes its living
out of contrasts: the principle of optimal performance wrapped in a
discreet but, by comparison with the 5 Series, distinctive body design.
When seen alongside the new 5 Series, the exterior design of the BMW
Concept M5 has its very own uniqueness. Modified front and rear air dams
and side sills, a slightly lower body, side air vents, an exclusive
wheel design as well as the four M-type tailpipes, visually accentuate
the vehicle’s claim to being a sports car.
The first V10
high-revving power unit in a sedan
The heart of every M automobile, and that
includes the BMW Concept M5, must be its exclusive high-performance
power unit with high-revving air intake technology, an engine which sets
a benchmark in this field. With this engine, BMW M is presenting a
masterpiece in power unit technology that undoubtedly has just what it
takes: the figure 5 is predominant with a 5.0-litre capacity producing
around 500 bhp (368 kW) and a maximum torque of at least 500 Nm, these
being the kind of figures BMW M considers worthy of a possible new M5.
And the figure ten will also gain in
significance, as, for the first time in BMW history, a series-production
sedan is to be powered by a ten-cylinder internal combustion engine, the
sound and power of which is closely related to the engine currently
providing monstrous power to the BMW Williams Formula 1 racing car,
without a doubt the most powerful car on the starting grid.
The engine powering the BMW Concept M5
should be in a position to mobilize the enormous power reserves required
to assist this unique sports sedan in achieving a remarkable driving
performance. Engineers at BMW M envisage the car accelerating from 0 to
100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) over the classic distance in well under 5
seconds, the 200 km/h (125 mph) mark being reached in just 13 seconds.
It is not power alone that makes an M
power unit so unique. The technology of this newly-developed
ten-cylinder engine should not be perceivable by single-dimensional
power or sheer performance alone, but first and foremost by the method
of achieving such performance. M power featured in the new BMW Concept
M5 will once again rise to the occasion and become a perfect example of
what is technically feasible and appropriate.
This is evident not only in the extremely
appealing design of a BMW high-performance engine. Needless to say, this
specially developed BMW M engine incorporates typical features such as
high-pressure VANOS, individual throttle butterflies, engine electronics
designed by our own engineers and based on knowledge gained from Formula
1 racing as well as traverse force-regulated oil supply.
Moreover, the BMW Concept M5 stands out from others by having the most
innovative drive concept in its class. Thanks to a superior gearbox
solution, the driver can benefit from a completely new 7-speed SMG, a
rapid manual gear-shift and, if required, comfortable cruising. This
piece of technical mastery also has its origins in Formula 1 synergism.
Optimum driving
behavior, whether in town or on the Nürburgring
The designers of the BMW Concept M5 were,
of course, eager to succeed against competition in building the lightest
car, as BMW wishes to continue pursuing the concept of intelligent
lightweight construction in order to achieve a high level of
longitudinal and lateral dynamics. As seen on the new 5 and 6 Series,
BMW has already presented an innovative example of a lightweight front
end construction. BMW M engineers aspired to achieve the best
power-to-weight ratio in this market segment, thereby fully utilizing
their abundant experience in suspension design.
Based on the excellent all-aluminium
suspension of the new BMW 5 Series, with the addition of some elements
from the new BMW 7 Series, they have designed the BMW Concept M5 for
maximum comfort when driving for longer periods on highways or in
stop-and-go city traffic, as well as for putting on a good show when
racing round the north loop of the Nürburgring. In addition to a
specially tuned Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), a variable M-type
limited-slip differential, which we are already familiar with from the
BMW M3, ensures optimum driving behavior in all situations.
The 9½ inch light-alloy rear wheels,
manufactured especially for the BMW Concept M5, boast specially
designed, extra wide 285/35 ZR 19 tires. At the front there are 255/40
ZR 19 tires on 8½ inch wheels, controlled by a newly designed
Servotronic steering which is fitted as standard. A reinforced braking
system developed especially for the BMW Concept M5 enables the driver to
fully control the engine’s exceptional performance.
Equipment in a class of
its own
Needless to say, the BMW Concept M5 also
offers scores of ideas for equipping the car with particularly exclusive
and sporty options. Without going into detail right now, it can be said
that the special solutions required to satisfy the demanding customer’s
preferences in this particular market segment have been realized.
When exactly the concept of a series-produced M5 will be realized cannot
be confirmed at the present time. However, it can be assumed that a
successor to the extremely popular BMW M5, based on the BMW Concept M5
now being exhibited, could possibly go on sale during the course of the
year 2004.
