*Running to the airport*
Stefan wrote this very interesting letter;
I just read in two independent German car magazines (one of them was the
new ams) that the new M5 will be presented to the public at the Geneva
Motorshow in March.
It will not be on sale before autumn. As we already know it will have
the new V8 with 5.0l, producing 500 Nm and - that's new - exactly 408
hp. What means that it equals Porsche's 911 turbo and will share its
title as "fastest German production car" (till the new turbo arrives). I
expected the "more than 400 horsepowers" to be 408 hp, because that is
300 kW, what a nice plain figure.
Both papers told the claimed 0-100 km/h time, which is - a little bit
disapointing - 5.4 sec, what means no better than B10 BiTurbo and not
really quicker than the E55. So either it is a really conservative claim
and in reality it will perform better, or the M5 will be rather heavy
because of all the luxury goodies on board, or the extra horsepower will
not be as noticable as expected. The last may be a critical point. As I
ever said: What good are limousines with an awful lot of horsepower when
they are weighing between 1800 and 2000kg? They really should
concentrate on saving weight instead of pressing out the last hp. How
about an M5 with 1500kg and 350 hp? Sounds good, eh?
Nevertheless, that's all for the moment,
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It's me again with the latest news concerning BMW's new M5.
The car is due in autumn 1998, but at least in the end of next year. It will have a 5.0 l V8
engine, producing "over 400 hp" (according to BMW officials) and a torque of 500 Nm. From
standstill to 100 km/h it will take less than 5.5 sec. The customers can choose between a
Sport- and a Comfort-Type of the car, which should concern chassis as well as the interior. I
hope you will find my new information interesting and suitable for you.
With this mail I also send you two bitmaps of the car, which was presented to the journalists
one day before the opening of the IAA.
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Subject: M5 Update!!!!!!!
Dear M5 Enthusiasts,
As little as you might believe me, there are M5s currently being
driven in the good old US of A and I have seen one myself while driving
down Ventura Blvd. in Encino, California. I know, you probably think I'm
full of it, well I'm not. It was a different color from any BMW I had
ever seen, METALLIC PURPLE!!! The car was beautiful, in addition to the
sleek design of the new fives, it had the distinctive rear skirt and
lowered front end, but it was one hell of a car.
Sincerely,
Joey
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BMW's new M5 was presented to motor-journalists at the Frankfurt Motor
Show one day before the official opening of the IAA. It will not be
shown at the BMW stand to the public.
The car BMW displayed was in a blue metallic colour, not as deep as the
traditional Alpina blue metallic, more like the the Z3 Coupe, that BMW
is also presenting at the IAA. It has white indicators at the front and
the rearlights are red-white, both similar to the current M3. As well it
has spoilers at rear and front, the rear one beneath the bumper looks
exactly like the one at the M3. Moreover the car shows four
exhaust-pipes, two at the right and two at the left side (very similar
to them at the current Alpina B12 5.7). New M-alloys are also equipped
and the car seems to have a new electric gimmick, with which you can
fold the mirrors to the body (Mercedes already has it in the S- and
E-class). I wonder what good that is for. From the engine you can expect
about 420 hp.
At the Mercedes Benz stand the rival of the M5 is already displayed. The
AMG E55 has a 5.5 litre V8 with 354 hp and a torque of 530 Nm. Although
it has less horsepower, it is likely that the M5 can't top 530 Nm out of
"only" 4.7 litre. The former AMG C36 (6-cylinder) will be replaced by
the AMG C43, which produces 306 hp out of a 4.3 litre V8 (same
basic-engine as in the E55).
Jaguar as well presents a M5 rival: It is the Jaguar XJR, with the new
V8 (already known from the XK8) fitted with a supercharger, that gives
363 hp and a torque of 505 Nm.
Best regards, SR
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KJ wrote;
From what I read, the new M5 was scheduled to be introduced in the
Frankfurt Motor show this Sept. But problems with that "sequential"
6-speed gearbox has pushed its debue as far back as 12 months. So far,
the main (and maybe only) problem is that BMW doesn't want
to launch the M5 with the conventional 6-speed gearbox. I really
can't believe this. Considering that Mercedes-Benz is coming up with
their E55 AMG, which is direct rival of the M5, in this year's show, the
only explanation for the delay is that the M5 project has been given a
low priority. So the E55 AMG will enjoy a record year of sales.
A BMW dealer told me that the likely scenario is that the car will debue
at the '98 Geneva show in March. That sounds more reasonable. My
only hope is that the car be made available with the "old-fashoined"
6-speed box. With Audi and MB coming up with better rivals for the
M5, time is of most importance and any delays can hurt the car's sales
and
fan base (not us, M5 nuts, though).
-KJ-
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Roland Kloboucek wrote;
Hey,
you got a lot of wrong informations on the new M5. I'm 3miles away from the M GmbH and a friend of a friend of mine is already test driving this new car on the Nürburgring since 6 months.
Definitely it will be a V8 engine with at the end 425hp. At the moment they drive 450hp but it will be reduced before market start. It will have app. 4.7 litre.
Best regards, Roland
One of the craziest car fans on earth.
Had several M cars.
Note: This guy has the best car taste in the world. He has put up a homepage over the cars he have owned, such as the BMW-Alpina B10 Biturbo, BMW M3, Lamborghini Diablo and Porsche 911 Turbo 3,6.
Go here to have a look!
Amjad Ali wrote:
...the new M5 will have a 4.4 litre V8 with and I quote "440 BHP" and a sequential six speed gear box like the one in the forthcoming M3 evolution. He also told me that the BMW Board had just given BMW M Gmbh the go ahead to race the car in the world sports car championship and now the engineers were looking at producing even more power for the car so that in racing trim it will have about 550 - 600 BHP.He told me that the car already exists in prototype form and is at the moment producing 448BHP, but to expect more power if the engineers can race the car.
Ville Valonen wrote:
It will have at least 408 hp. Sounds pretty good, ha? MB E50 AMG is for wimps....
James Waddington wrote:
I went to the Motor Show in Birmingham, England and spoke to a guy about a new M5. He said that a new M5 had just been signed off and that it would probably be a four litre V8 with in excess of 400bhp.From: "Todd G. Westlie"
Todd G. Westlie wrote:
Concerning the new M5--the rumors abound!
I have heard everything from 4.6 to 5.0 litres, 400 to 460 bhp, a six-speed manual or five speed "tiptronic" type automatic option, 18 and possibly 19 inch wheels. It's all over the map!
The latest that I have heard is the possibility of a `de-stroked' 5.0 litre V12 as the motor for the upcoming M5.
Do you know the magazine `Sports Car International'? The February/March issue has an article on a 5.5 litre V12 318ti constructed by Racing Dynamics! If they can get that big motor in that little car, BMW will have no problem with the E39.
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