News
Gallery 21
The new 2018 BMW F90 M5 will be all-wheel drive, but only when you want it to be.
Following the path first trodden by its main rival, the Mercedes-AMG E63 S, the all-new M5 uses a switchable all-wheel drive system, allowing for maximum traction but also the ability to haze the rear tyres in time-honoured fashion should you want to.
This works in conjunction with the traditional electronically-controlled rear M differential, which now uses carbon plates.
Finally, switching the DSC completely off allows the driver to select from 4WD, 4WD Sport or 2WD. The driver’s preferred mode can also be saved along with a favourite combination of settings for the suspension, powertrain, steering and DSC with the M1 and M2 buttons.
The recently-deceased M5’s 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 remains, albeit heavily revised with higher injection pressure, new turbochargers, new cooling and lubrication systems and a new exhaust, with BMW sources saying the new car sounds much better than the old.
Power is expected to be in the 450kW/700Nm region, which combined with a new eight-speed automatic – replacing the old seven-speed dual-clutch – and lighter kerb weight should slash the 0-100km/h time to around 3.5sec.
We’ll have a first drive of the BMW F90 M5 prototype in the July issue of MOTOR magazine.
