Tuesday, March 19, 2024

BMW M5 and M5 Competition (2020): Everything about the facelift of the E 63 opponent

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After we had the facelift of the normal BMW 5 Series served up about two weeks ago, it is now also the high-performance version. We saw a number of Erlkönig pictures, we had the opportunity to drive a camouflaged prototype and now we can finally see what the finished product looks like. Say hello to the 2020 M5 and M5 Competition.

Design

As with the 5 Series, the kidney grows a little larger. There is also a front apron with larger air intakes and redesigned LED headlights. The apron and diffuser have been redrawn at the rear. The two double tailpipes of the exhaust system are supposed to appear “more technical and precise” due to thinner side walls. The LED taillights now appear three-dimensional.

You can still recognize the M5 Competition from various black colored details (frame of the kidney grille, grille of the M-gills, exterior mirror caps, rear spoiler on the trunk lid). There are also black inserts on the rear apron and black tailpipes for the standard M sports exhaust system.

The five new colors for both M5 variants are the brands Hatch Gray, Motegi Red metallic, Tanzanite Blue II metallic, Aventurine Red II metallic and Frozen Bluestone metallic. Optionally, you can now also get the orbit-gray 20-inch double-spoke wheel from the M8.

Interior

The most striking change in the interior – analogous to the conventional 5 series – is certainly the larger infotainment screen, which now measures 12.3 inches. As with the other new M cars, such as the X5 M / X6 M or the M8 family, the M5 now has two buttons in the center console, which give you quicker access to M-specific settings.

The instrument displays and intensity of the driving aids (ROAD, SPORT, TRACK) can be set using the M-mode switch. The setup button takes you directly to the driving mode menu on the central screen, where all relevant parameters such as engine, chassis, steering, sound, all-wheel drive and the like can be configured.

BMW has not changed anything on the standard sports seats. Optionally, you can also get the so-called M multifunctional seat with integrated headrest and illuminated M5 logo, so that you don’t forget which car you bought. The driver assistance systems are adopted one-to-one by the normal 5 Series.

Drive

It remains with the 4.4-liter biturbo V8 with 600 PS in the M5 and 625 PS in the M5 Competition. The torque of 750 Nm does not change either. With the competition model, however, it runs from 1,800 to 5,860 tours and is therefore 260 rpm longer.

As before, it goes from 0-100 km / h in 3.4 seconds and from 0-200 km / h in 11.1 seconds (3.3 and 10.8 seconds in the competition). The electronically regulated top speed at 250 km / h can be increased to 305 km / h with the optional M Drivers Package.

As before, the power goes to the configurable M-xDrive all-wheel drive via an eight-speed automatic. In addition to the normal 4WD mode, the car also has a rear-heavy 4WD Sport mode and a 2WD mode, in which the M5 changes to pure rear-wheel drive. 

As part of the facelift, the M5 received the electrical system of the newer M8 . In the course of this, minor optimizations were made to the setup of the all-wheel drive and the standard electronic rear-axle limited slip differential.

Landing gear

Anyone who knows the current M5 should agree that when it comes to suspension comfort, it can be a very relentless dog. This applies above all to the even tighter competition version. The main focus when re-calibrating the chassis was on increasing driving comfort. 

For this purpose, the M5 Competition receives the shock absorbers of the new M8 Gran Coupé , which according to BMW “not only improve handling in the limit area, but at the same time improve the comfort experience”. As before, the Competition is 7 mm lower and receives modifications to the wheel suspension and suspension. In addition, there is an independent engine mount with a higher spring rate, which should lead to a more spontaneous engine response and a more direct steering behavior.

Both M5 variants come as standard with the so-called M compound brake

with six-piston fixed callipers at the front and single-piston floating callipers at the rear. The pliers are no longer only available in blue, but also in red or black.

The golden derivatives are still reserved for the optional carbon ceramic brake, which saves 23 kilos in this case. 

Prices / market launch

Entry prices rise slightly to EUR 120,900 for the M5 and EUR 129,900 for the M5 Competition. The market starts in July. An even sharper M5 CS will follow soon. Production prototypes of the racetrack-optimized offshoot were spotted months ago.

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