The new BMW M5 has been spotted testing near Germany’s Nurburgring. Shedding some of its disguise, the flagship 5-series shows off three gaping intakes set into the front bumper to aid cooling.
The super-saloon will likely get the same 4.4-litre V8 to that found in the X6 M SUV, but it will be tweaked to give a unique character.
A raft of clever “active” aerodynamics features are also planned for the M5 to make it more slippery. BMW believes a 10 per cent reduction in drag reduces fuel consumption by 2.5 per cent, and the 2011 M5 could get flaps that open and close on its body to alter air flow.
The wheelbase is expected to be 10mm longer than the current car's, but despite the larger dimensions BMW wants the new M5 to be the same weight as the current M5’s 1830kg.
BMW denies giving the car a four-door coupe shape but it has smooth, flowing roofline that extends far back along the car.
As you can see from our spy shots the M5 will get huge drilled discs to provide formidable stopping power.The direct injection V8 will have twin-scroll twin turbochargers with an output of around 540bhp.
A BMW source said: “The M division will start from the ground up instead of just taking the lump from another car. Customers would expect something different.”
This will be mated to either a six-speed manual or the BMW M DCT. The car is expected to be revealed at the end of next year.
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Re: 2011 BMW M5 spied
Jaguar will have the last laugh when the M5 is launched. if you look at the front of the XFR one of the lower air-intakes is just a blank. That is where the extra oil cooler will go when the 5.0 V8 SC engine gets uprated to 550+PS & 700 Nm. Coupled with the ZF 8-Speeder it will be pretty good & will give the new & probably brilliant M5 a run for its money.
Re: 2011 BMW M5 spied
Actually, the M5 (and the M3 for that matter) ride pretty decently, given their sporting chassis and performances.
Re: 2011 BMW M5 spied
Am very aware of this but felt the need to mention the XFR as the Audi and BMW fan clubs can become so obsessed with one another they can forget that the megafast exec class is not just a two horse race. There's the AMG E Class contending too but, alas, it's another boneshaker.