MAKO said:
LOL, big V10? It weighs less than the V8 that was in the E39 M5....That's called progress.
Early reports are saying that the new M5 is every bit the driver's car the older one was, which is what you'd expect from BMW.
NEXT.
Don't be so sure. Autoweek 3/15/2004 page 19 named the new M5 most fun concept at Geneva and says:
"Officially, this is a concept, but it is a concept that will be a real car in the not-too-distant future. For all the potential under the bulging hood and fenders, this next generation M5 was named our Most Fun. A 90 degree V10 derived from the powerplant used in the Williams BMW F1 car powers the M5. The engine produces 500 HP and 370 lb-ft of torque, driving it through a seven speed sequential manual gearbox operated by steering wheel mounted paddles. BMW says 0 to 60 happens in five seconds and 0 to 124 takes 13 seconds."
Now the "old" 2001 BMW tested by Autoweek didn't do any worse.
http://autoweek.com/search/search_d...16&Search_Type=STD&Search_ID=1973405&record=1
Road Test Data:
STANDING-START ACCELERATION
0-30 mph:1.90 sec
0-40 mph:3.01 sec
0-50 mph:3.81 sec
0-60 mph:4.96 sec
0-100 km/h
(62.1 mph):5.40 sec
0-80 mph:8.03 sec
0-quarter-mile:104.7 mph, 13.50 sec
All this without a Bangled design (thank God the BMW family demoted him before he ruined another BMW), the terrible i-drive, and if the standard BMW is any indication - the weird electronic assisted steering and braking. Talk about a great company going in the wrong direction IMO.
But if spending more money on an uglier car with more electronic nannies that isn't predicted to be too much faster then the outgoing car is your cup of tea - that's cool. The good news - based on enthusiasts I talk to in and out of the BMW club and the Germans I met at the Frankfurt Motor show last fall - there shouldn't be too big of a markup IMO. If your not impressed that the lower priced RS6 does extremely well on the track as they full on sports cars - fine - but I wouldn't hold out hope that the new M5 is going to do much better based on what we have seen at Geneva. Its too bad really - BMW was such an awesome company a few years ago and really went to pot with Bangle, i-drive, and the advent of all the electronic drivers aids that are taking over IMO.