BMW is quietly confident that the upcoming 2017 BMW M5 will be able to challenge the Mercedes Benz E 63 S, which is now the undisputed king in the performance sedan segment.
The BMW M5 has long been the preferred choice for those who wanted discreet performance from their sedans. The current generation, or F10, BMW M5 was the first to feature downsized the engines with turbo chargers. It is highly likely that the upcoming version will also go down the same road, although several tweaks will be done so as to ensure that the turbo lag is eliminated completely.
The company remains confident that the current benchmark of the Mercedes Benz E 63 S will be overtaken quite comfortably with the upcoming generation. The E 63 S is regarded as one of the fiercest sedans out there; in developed a whopping 604 bhp along with 627 lb-ft of torque to propel the incredible bulk to 60 mph in just 3.3 seconds. BMW are confident that the upcoming BMW M5 will be able to match this figure, while not providing the same level of power and torque figures.
BMW have always been focused on making rear wheel drive vehicles, but the Mercedes Benz E 63 S is an all-wheel drive vehicle. BMW’s VP of sales and marketing, Peter Quintus, says that the German giant are likely to retain their rear wheel drive focus. However, he admitted that the vehicle needed all-wheel drive in order to compete with the Mercedes-Benz E 63 S. In order to find the perfect balance, the G30 BMW M5 may come with an all-wheel drive option which will still provide much of the power to the rear wheels.
Traction is one of the biggest issues hampering a modern-day sports sedan with a lot of power. When there is too much power and not enough traction, it often results in inefficient power delivery and thus not translating into great performance figures. Traditionally, the BMW M5 has been the benchmark when it comes to sports sedans and this is likely to remain the case even when the G 30 comes out. The vehicle has been spotted testing it with heavy camouflage.
The 2017 BMW 5 series was recently unveiled and it features several elements borrowed from the bigger BMW 7-series. Just like in the top end sedan, it comes with a lot of weight saving measures coupled with a huge amount of technology.
Grant Hamersma knows the world of tech inside and out, covering smartphones, gadgets and applications. One of our in-house writers and top contributors on the site, you can read all 3,700+ of his posts here.