BMW Debuts Most Powerful M5 Yet
BMW’s new M5 will be the most powerful M model of 5-Series ever sold in the United States.
The German automaker showed off the new performance car at the North American International Auto Show here in Detroit.
With a 500-horsepower 5.0-liter V10 with 383 lb-ft of torque under the hood, the M5 sedan will zoom from 0 to 60 miles an hour in just 4.5 seconds and reach 120 mph in 15 seconds, said Tom Purves, president of BMW of North America Inc. Note that this is a high-speed engine that can rev all the way up to 8250 rpm.
Fitted with a 7-speed Sequential Manual Gearbox and a new generation of stability control, the new M5 goes on sale in U.S. showrooms in autumn 2005. Pricing wasn’t announced.
BMW is also adding all-wheel drive to the 5-Series. In Detroit the company debuted the new 525xi and 530xi, which feature BMW’s xDrive system. xDrive anticipates wheelspin and begins to react before it occurs. The system is already available in the company’s X3 utility vehicle.
The V10 won’t be the only new engine for the 5-Series. The automaker showed new inline 6-cylinder engines that are more fuel efficient, more powerful and lighter weight than current powerplants. The new engines, which are the first production units to use aluminum and magnesium in their block, are stronger, more rigid and lighter weight than the 2.5-liter and 4.0-liter engines they replace.
In a U.S. debut, BMW also unveiled its new 5-Series Touring model. It can seat five and has a cargo area that measures 17.5 cubic feet behind the rear seats and 56.6 cubic feet when the rear seats are folded down.
Also on display at the auto show is BMW’s sleek, low-to-the-ground H2R. The record-setting, one-person speedster uses hydrogen in its internal combustion engine. Purves said the H2R’s nine world records are in the process of being confirmed. “In the years to come, we will offer a 7-Series” that’s a bi-fuel model capable of using either hydrogen or gasoline as its fuel, he said.
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