ziranop01: BMW M5

Wednesday, 11 May 2011

BMW M5

As you probably already know by now, BMW is preparing the next M5 sports sedan and they promised it would be "a brilliant car." The first concept version will be unveiled at the 2011 Shanghai Motor Show, with a production version to follow at the Frankfurt Motor Show a few months later.

With the new M5, BMW will focus on improving all the aspects of the car. First, the car will be built on an all-new aluminum chassis and will feature the intense use of carbon fiber. This will help reduce the car’s weight considerably. It will also produce 25% less CO2 and the new V8 engine will require less fuel.

Under the hood is where it may get a bit tricky. Originally, the new M5 was to carry the same twin-turbocharged 4.4 liter V8 engine that can be found in the BMW X6 M. This is still the case, but instead of the 555 hp found in the X6 M, the engine is said to deliver an impressive 578 HP in the M5.

UPDATE 03/30/2011: BMW has unveiled a 30 minute video of the M5 sports car and has also confirmed that we will have the first details for the sports car on April 1st. No , this isn’t an April Fool’s joke - at least as far as we know. The official release of details will be followed by its public debut at the Shanghai Motor Show a few weeks later. Video after the jump.

UPDATE 05/03/2011: According to the British magazine, AutoCar, BMW will offer a four-wheel-drive version of the future M5 sports sedan. According to the same source, the company has no plans to create a long-wheelbase version of the car: "The long-wheelbase platform is reserved for standard versions of the 5-series sold in the Chinese market. There are no existing plans for an M5 on this structure."

UPDATE 05/10/2011: BMW is currently putting the M5 through some extreme testing after equipping the sports sedan with all of the latest technologies. Hit the jump to see the M5 tested at the test-track in Miramas, France.

Hit the jump to find out more on the future BMW M5.