BETTER PARTSNew BMW M5: finally all-wheel drive
Munich, May 17, 2017
It is as before the car Quartet in the schoolyard: who offers more? Currently, Mercedes scores in the segment of extra strong business limousine. With up to 612 PS, AMG shows off E 63. No wonder, then, that BMW already eagerly makes sharp his limousine rocket. The next M5 comes even 2017. Now there's first official information about the drive train. It is certain: the new M5 gets all-wheel drive.
Faster thanks to 4 x 4
M5 purists may see the all-wheel drive as a betrayal of the matter, but this solution is almost inevitable. BMW reveals, namely, that the optimized 4.4-liter Twin-Turbo V8 exceeds the aggregate in the previous M5 in terms of power and torque. In plain language: the 600 Horsepower of the special model "30 years of M5" are to leave behind. And new turbocharger, a higher injection pressure and a modified, lighter exhaust system make it possible as its Sprint value of 3.9 seconds to 100 km/h. In addition, the whole car is used on a diet. In the reverse case, this also means: want to get in under 3.5 seconds to 100, as is rumored, it simply doesn't work without the extra grip of the all-wheel drive. Moreover, want to be brought over 700 Newton metres of torque on the road.
A question of distribution
And so, the magic word is "xDrive M". A mixture of the xDrive all-wheel drive and a "active M differential" behind, so BMW. Via transfer case, a part of the drive torque on demand is distributed continuously and fully variable between front and rear. An activated electro-mechanical multi-plate clutch makes it possible. There are new carbon fins and a newly developed control logic in the M differential. The locking effect can be between zero and 100 percent depending on the situation. As a result the ESP must (at BMW it's called DSC) rarely intervene, the performance is almost loss-free traction implemented in.
Drift with double bottom
In the normal condition, M5 the four-wheel drive and the DSC are enabled in the new BMW. This basic configuration lets first slip to the rear wheels. Who would like to loosen the reins somewhat more, choosing the so-called "M dynamic mode" in the "4WD sport"-setting. There's even more torque to the rear axle, it is allowed more tolerance. Oversteer is to announce in time themselves, to put out a controlled drift. This mode is the jump with parachute for scanning up to the border area to some extent.
Rear-wheel drive is possible
Who is very sure of his driving skills, you can disable the DSC. There are three modes: 4WD, 4WD sports and 2WD. The 4WD-Sport-Modus is optimized for use on race tracks in dry conditions, while a pure rear-wheel drive for purists and fans of the previous M5 allows 2WD. What is worth noting in the new M5 yet? The eight-speed M Steptronic transmission (a sport automatic mode) should just have extremely short switching times. On the steering wheel as usual there's rocker, allowing also multiple back circuits.
As you like it
The cockpit is home to two classic circular instruments in the left half of an additional digital speedometer. The right the tachometer has a variable field of the forewarning. Here is warned when the engine is cold, what speeds should not be exceeded. In head-up display is switched off, "Shift Lights" inform the driver about it when a gear change is. Finally, there are two freely configurable buttons in the sport steering wheel, to save his personal Setup. In addition to switching programs and a four wheel drive, engine, shock absorbers and steering can be affected. (rh)