Things happen fast in the world of super cars; a hot item today is tomorrow’s old news. That is why the German luxury car maker, BMW is already preparing their next generation factory tuned super saloon, the M5. The next generation sports sedan will feature a more muscular design, consisting of a wider body and some extremely aggressive new lines.
In these fossil fuel conserving times BMW will drop the high revving V10 in favor of a twin-turbo V8, similar to the setup found under the hood of the X5 M and X6 M, but don’t expect it to make anything less than the 500 HP of the current M5. For 2012 the boosted M5 should make over 550 HP, that is if they want to stay competitive with their German rival, the 572 HP Audi RS6.
Motor Trend recently did a comparison between the pride of American luxury and performance, the Cadillac CTS-V and the German powerhouse, the BMW M5. Which of these two high performance machines do you think won out?
We here at Top Speed love tuned machines, we love them even more when they are racing, but there is a special spot in out hearts for fast wagons. The owner of the BMW M5 must not have known what he was looking at when the Audi RS6 Avant built by tuners MTM rolled up and challenged him to a race. It appears that the BMW is equipped with a Super Sprint exhaust, good for another 40 HP over the 5.0 Liter V10’s 500 HP, but one thing is for certain, an exhaust is no match for a fully built 700+ HP machine.
Japanese tuners are often criticized for slapping together a car with lots of fins, big mouth front bumpers, oversized wings and other aerodynamic devices. It is not their fault; this practice tends to have positive results when applied to a Japanese vehicle. The problems arise when a Japanese tuning company decides to modify something that is not Japanese.
A perfect example of this culture clash can be seen in the Y’s Factory BMWM5. This high performance European sedan now has the appearance of a tuner track day special. Most M5 customers would scoff at such a design and pledge never to be caught dead in anything like it.
Some of the more tacky upgrades to the BMW include the twin oversized coffee can mufflers and the larger than life rear wing. The front end has been slightly more tastefully modified with the addition of a lower spoiler and canards.
Other modifications are intended to enhance the cars performance for competition. Inside the 20 inch rims are giant Project Mu brakes, perfect for scrubbing off speed after a long straight away. At all four corners are Y’s factory coilovers, dialed in to make the hefty saloon nimble around the track. It looks like the car was put on a diet, as there appears to be no carpeting or sound deadening underneath the blue Recaro race buckets. It is always nice to see the contrast between wood grain and bare metal.
No performance information is available at this time, but expect the Y’s Factory M5 to be up a few ponies from the stock 507 HP 5.0 liter V10 and quicker from 0-60 MPH (0-100 km/hr) than the factory numbers of 4.7 seconds.
No matter what your opinion may be of the vehicle, at least one person likes the way it looks, the owner.
Sedan drivers wish they were driving supercars. Usually a need for space to haul kids and clients means a Bugatti is not in the driveway. Well rich dads of the world can now unite and get the little ones to soccer practice in record time. German tuner G-Power took a BMW 5-Series and turned it into the world’s fastest sedan.
G-Power now says that it has documented a 228.4 mph top speed on its M5 Hurricane RS. The Hurricane RS seems to accomplish this using brute force, as the V10 engine is massaged to make 750 hp (250 hp more than a stock M5.)
While 228 mph is a great accomplishment, it’s amazing considering that it is only about 29 mph shy of the all-time record set by the SSC Ultimate Aero. While the M5 is based on a sedan built for everyday use, the Aero is a completely custom car that has the aerodynamics and engine specifically built for speed.
So you were able to convince the wife that the BMW M5 Touring was the perfect vehicle to carry around the 2.5 kids, but your bachelor buddies who don’t know a thing about cars are still teasing because you bought a wagon. What is an ulta-rich insecure soccer dad to do?
It seems Japanese tuner Mitaka has your self esteem.
The kit includes no performance parts because BMW is already pretty damn good at doing it themselves. Instead this program includes a new front bumper, new side sills, a rear roof spoiler and a new four pipe exhaust system. The most interesting part of this kit is the bright orange paintjob on the body and also on the 21 inch alloy wheels. The addition of matte black makes the orange stand out more and even gives your kids a chalkboard to do their homework.
Cadillac keeps gunning for the Germans. This time Road and Track helped facilitate the 2009 Cadillac CTS-V’s “anytime, anywhere” challenge to the BMW M5. In the October 2008 issue, the magazine sets up a slugfest at Monticello Motor Club, 90 miles northwest of Manhattan. Each company gets to choose who drives these super sedans. BMW flies in its veteran racer Bill Auberlen, and General Motors chooses its Performance Vehicle Operations Director John Heinricy to pilot its rocket.
It’s a relatively good match up. The CTS-V has an over 50 horsepower advantage, but it also has a 150 lbs disadvantage. The new kid on the block also has the best advantage over the M5, about $28,000 less for the Caddy.
In the end the Cadillac’s best run was half a second quicker than the BMW. Victory for America! But BMW isn’t too disappointed, a new M5 is on the horizon…
BMW owners have had a love/hate relationship with the iDrive since it first appeared in 2002. Some loved the extra features it added to the cars, and others couldn’t understand how the company who builds the ultimate driving machine could possibly install something so complicated that it distracts from the road. Now in an effort to appease both sides, BMW is introducing a simpler, but still technology-filled, iDrive.
With the launch of the first official images of the facelift M3, BMW also announced that the 2009 M3, M5 and M6 will feature the new generation iDrive control system which will facilitate even easier activation and control of the most important entertainment, communication and navigation features as well as a number of other functions.
The models BMW M5 and BMW M5 Touring, the BMW M6 Coupe and the BMW M6 Convertible are all equipped with the new iDrive control system as standard. It also comes with the BMW M3 in conjunction with an optionally available navigation system.
BMW will unveil the new 5-Series in 2009, with the M version appearing the next year. According to the latest spy shots, the M5 will lose the current 5.0-liter V10 in favor of a new twin-turbo V8. But don’t worry, the output will still be bigger than in the current M5.
The new V8 is said to be a tuned version of the engine used in the X6, sending around 540bhp to the rear wheels. Other features on the future M5 will include direct fuel injection and a seven-speed twin-clutch transmission.
After the unveiling of the W204 Black Bison based on the Mercedes C-Class, Wald international revealed a new masterpiece: its customized Bmw M5. Although the M5 body kit is sporty enough this didn’t stop Wald International to improve the aerodynamics of the vehicle.
Their new kit includes a new front lip spoiler with carbon fiber insertions, new side skirts, a carbon fiber lip spoiler and a re-designed rear bumper with integrated air diffuser and exhaust system. Unfortunately no prices were revealed yet, but stay tuned!
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