BMW Concept M5 Unveiled at Geneva

Press Release

• The world's first V10 high-revving engine in a saloon car
• The world's first 7-speed SMG in a saloon car
• The best power-to-weight ratio in its market segment

Precisely 20 years have already passed since the BMW M5 established a new segment, which has in the meantime also been discovered by other car manufacturers. And that car - the original - is still by far the most successful player in the high performance saloon car segment. Spread over three generations of production, more than 35,000 units were built - initially manually at the BMW M plant in Munich and later at the 5 Series assembly line in Dingolfing. These units were then sold worldwide. The secret of the BMW M5's popularity has always been the successful synthesis of unobtrusive yet powerful appearance, combined with a high-performance power unit - a sports car featuring Formula 1 technology and at the same time a saloon car offering premium comfort. In terms of driving dynamics, the BMW M5 had always set standards in its segment. It not only excelled due to its high performance, but due to the way in which M power was produced and developed. It appeared as if this first-rate car's inexhaustible power reserves had created a totally new dimension in effortlessness.

BMW M5 parameters: Performance, style and driving fun

Due to the change of model within the 5 Series, the BMW M product portfolio is currently presented without a BMW M5, even though the demand for such a car has never diminished. For this reason, BMW M designers have begun designing a possible successor based on the new BMW 5 Series. This car is a far-reaching concept on an appealing subject: the BMW Concept M5. Such a car could undoubtedly serve as a stimulus and offer solutions for a future series-production vehicle. Totally in keeping with the high demands of our clientele, whose main reasons for purchasing a car are performance, style and driving fun, the BMW M5 Concept makes its living out of contrasts: the principle of optimal performance wrapped in a discreet but, by comparison with the 5 Series, distinctive body design. When seen alongside the new 5 Series, the exterior design of the BMW Concept M5 has its very own uniqueness. Modified front and rear air dams and side sills, a slightly lower body, side air vents, an exclusive wheel design as well as the four M-type tailpipes, visually accentuate the vehicle's claim to being a sports car.

The first V10 high-revving power unit in a saloon car

The heart of every M automobile, and that includes the BMW Concept M5, must be its exclusive high-performance power unit with high-revving air intake technology, an engine which sets a benchmark in this field. With this engine, BMW M is presenting a masterpiece in power unit technology that undoubtedly has just what it takes: the figure 5 is predominant with a 5.0-litre capacity producing around 500 bhp (368 kW) and a maximum torque of at least 500 Nm, these being the kind of figures BMW M considers worthy of a possible new M5. And the figure ten will also gain in significance, as, for the first time in BMW history, a series-production saloon car is to be powered by a ten-cylinder internal combustion engine, the sound and power of which is closely related to the engine currently providing monstrous power to the BMW Williams Formula 1 racing car, without a doubt the most powerful car on the starting grid. The engine powering the BMW Concept M5 should be in a position to mobilise the enormous power reserves required to assist this unique sports saloon car in achieving a remarkable driving performance. Engineers at BMW M envisage the car accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) over the classic distance in well under 5 seconds, the 200 km/h mark being reached in just 13 seconds.