more chinks in the M5’s armor; should BMW change course?
October 18th, 2005We’ve been voicing our concern with recent trends at BMW rather vocally since the late 90s, one of them being the emphasis on power output rather than cohesiveness and balance between the vehicle’s subsystems. (BMWs used to insist the chassis have twice and the brakes three times the capability the engine required – one reason they were associated with unerring controllability).
We’re happy to see that BMW hasn’t stooped to relying on forced induction to compete in the horsepower wars, but at the same time the engines and the cars that house them are getting bigger with each generation and the power output has seemingly exceeded the limits of the FR layout. The last M5 was accomplished and demanded respect in a sraight line but the weight of that V8 on the nose was ever-present and traction was hard to come by at lower speeds. The new M5’s V10 is no lighter than the outgoing V8 of course, and despite the aluminum front structure the new 5’s extra bulk, girth and remoteness is a step in the wrong direction.
When we addressed our concerns with weight gains in the E46 M3 to the former M brand manager, his response was “So??? The car has more power too!” (His successor is far more car savvy).
The consequence of BMW’s recent focus on power output above all is evinced in these excerpts from a brilliant comparison between the M5 and the Lamborghini Gallardo in this month’s evo
the speed and ferocity of the monster M Power saloon is a double-edged sword… as our speed increases and the road begins to duck and dive, you get an increasingly insistent feeling that while the V10’s up for anything, there’s massive momentum at work, and it takes far more out of the M5 than you’d think simply to stop it running away with itself. While there’s an impressive sense of grip and traction… how much restraint you have to practise in normal driving, and how little of the V10’s 501bhp and 383lb ft you’re able to use before cracks start showing in the M5’s impressive dynamic facade. At what feels like 7/10ths the M5 has a reassuringly composed feel… just that little bit harder and deeper into a corner on the brakes… and the M5’s limits suddenly don’t feel so lofty… Does this make the M5 a bad car? Hardly. If you’ve never experienced what a real supercar is capable of, and you don’t have the funds to purchase one, the M5’s demented pace and animalistic cry are your passport to new and exotic territory. Ultimately, though, it’s physics that defeats the M5. That wailing M Power V10 comes close to challenging a few of old Sir Isaac’s Laws, but hurling an 1800kg saloon down the road at supercar-rivalling speed generates such gargantuan quantities of inertia that unleashing the V10’s full potential is tantamount to declaring war on the rest of the car. The outcome is inevitable, brakes and tyres succumbing to the onslaught, with deftness and delicacy the early collateral casualties in the battle to contain the M5’s rampant performance… even M Power’s spectacular fireworks can’t disguise the fact that… the M5 has had greatness thrust upon it.
The magnesium block in the new inline 6s, the carbon fiber body panels in the M6 and the ceramic brakes planned for the next M3 indicate BMW is aware of the problem, and the number of M3’s that are traded in for Coopers shows that consumers are catching on too…
A shame that the current M cars are saddled with such a massive burden.
UPDATE:
it seems evo is not convinced by the M5 either…
Munich’s ultimate 5-series may have upped the ante in spectacular fashion with its seven-speed sequential manual transmission, 5-litre V10 engine and 205mph potential, but though unarguably great, it’s still not everyone’s pint of Warsteiner. It needs working hard to fully unleash the monster V10’s headline-grabbing outputs, and this rev-hungry delivery and the 8250rpm red line mean it burns through a fiver’s worth of super-unleaded every ten miles or so when fully stoked-up. While extraordinarily quick, it does sometimes feel like you’re sledgehammering walnuts… While the M5’s wailing V10 is never less than impressive, it always feels like it deserves a lighter, sharper car in which to truly shine.