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Work on the new BMW M5 is gathering pace, industry sources have revealed to Autocar. M division is collaborating closely with the team developing the next 5-series, and plans to take the supersaloon fight to Mercedes’s doorstep with an all-new, fifth-generation 550bhp M5 in 2011. Mercedes is currently working on a ground-up redesign of the E63 that will appear in 2009.
The new 5-series, due in 2010, will be an obvious evolution of today’s design, and the new M5 is expected to use the current V10, bored out to 5.5 litres. It is also likely to get a direct injection, turbocharged unit, to reduce emissions. The engines will be available with either the six-speed manual gearbox or the new seven-speed M DCT double-clutch transmission.
Further improvements in fuel economy would result from the use of the company’s stop-start technology. BMW has already emphasised that it wants to reduce the emissions of the new 5-series through the Efficient Dynamics programme and it’s unlikely that the M5 would sidestep this technology. The part-time alternator system, for example, which is branded as regenerative braking, boosts power and economy without in any way affecting performance.
Will Powell / Greg Kable
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