hi every1....reading my Saturday paper and just found this article...yeah i know some details may have been posted b4 but when u read it ALL together it really makes your spine tingle
The Sydney Morning Herald [June 22 2002]
M5 Monster
Plainly not distracted by controversy over styling of the new 7 Series, BMW has been pushing onwards with the next-generation M5, powered by a 410kW 5.5-litre V10. To arrive in 2004, it will be gunning for Mercedes AMG and Audi RS rivals. The M5 takes some styling cues from the 7 and inherits the big sibling's love-it/hate-it iDrive system. Its seven-speed gearbox with paddle controls comes direct from the BMW-Williams Formula One team. Audi's response will be to produce an RS8, based on the next A8 and using a twin-turbo 450kW version on VW's W12.
WWWOOOOOOOWWWWWW!!! very nice indeed! and interesting how Audi wanted to take on the M5 with its new RS6, could work now with the current M5.....but the next-gen M5?? hehehe.....nope....its gonna take a new RS8 to do that.
I dunno.. I don't see a point to have a 7 speed gearbox... unless the car has like 1000hp.... even 600hp monsters don't need 7 speed gearboxes... 6 is more than enough...
__________________ US Spec 2001 E39 M5 - LHD AC Schnitzer
DFC suspension, anti-sway bars, pedals
front splitters, rear wing w/ carbon fiber
but still, 7 gears will be totally useless... it just means more shifting, and even with the SMG, you'll still loose a few milliseconds... a 6 speed would do just as good... as far as I remember, the only 7 speed car that was ever produced was kind of a flop.... if they want more gears, they should try the variable transmission thing that they have in the new audis, which give you infinite number of gears... :p
"Its seven-speed gearbox with paddle controls comes direct from the BMW-Williams Formula One team."
This is the key sentence. This may indicate that the gearbox is not a traditional H patern unit but a true sequential. With the SMG interface there is nothing stopping them from doing this. A 7th gear could be usefull to keep the revs down at high speeds. I expect what you would have would be 6 performance gears + Overdrive.
Originally posted by tfung but still, 7 gears will be totally useless... it just means more shifting, and even with the SMG, you'll still loose a few milliseconds... a 6 speed would do just as good... as far as I remember, the only 7 speed car that was ever produced was kind of a flop.... if they want more gears, they should try the variable transmission thing that they have in the new audis, which give you infinite number of gears... :p
Cough, ... Ferrari FX.
I doubt that they would put a 7spd in that car unless it had some performance advantage.
I was led to believe that the next M5 would also have a traditional manual available- perhaps that will be a 6 speed......... either way- the rumor mill was that BMW was going more directly to the racing technology on the E60 M5 and this is consistent with that.......
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All the best,
Jerry 00 Z8 Jet Black/Red Sport / some others
If BMW is smart, they will treat the 7th gear like a very steep overdrive, keeping rev's and noise down. I seriously doubt it will be used for acceleration, meaning the other six will not be shorter. Take the current ratios in 1 - 6 and just add a 7th. It's there for those of us who will use it, or you can ignore it like it's not even there - the only penalty would be the 2 pounds the gears weigh.
Rick
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