Overview of the F10 M5

The 6th generation BMW 5-Series, designated F10, was first introduced for the 2011 model year The M5 variant of the 5-Series is always the top-performing variant. It went on sale for the 2012 model year, and has performance-related enhancements effected by BMW's "M" Motorsports Division.

The one I have on order is as follows.

• 2013 BMW M5 Sedan
• Monte-Carlo Blue Metallic Paint
• Trace Aluminum Trim
• Black Extended Merino Leather
• Executive Package

The engine is a powerful twin-turbocharged V8 generating high torque at a wide range of engine speeds (no need to "rev up" to access that torque). In practice, this means that the M5 gets to 100km/h in around 4s accelerating at greater than 0.7g's. The torque band is also very broad, so there is always available power to accelerate, no matter what gear you are in or how fast or slow the engine is turning.

In addition to the engine, the transmission is also unique. It is a sequential manual using a dual clutch design. This means that shifts are quick and power to the wheels is not interrupted. The final drive is a computer controlled limited slip differential which ensures that both wheels have optimal traction coming out of corners. The brakes are large lightweight ventilated and cross-drilled disk brakes. Braking from 60 mph can be accomplished in 110' at 2.2g's.

The chassis is built like a race car in that the rear suspension is rigidly attached to it to improve handling. The shock absorbers that connect the wheels to the suspension can be stiffened or loosened under computer control which allows the driver to adjust the ride quality. The electronics are specially tuned for the car, and have configurable settings that can be called up via two steering wheel buttons. One of the electronic chassis dynamic modes is called "M Dynamic" mode that allows for more wheel slip and sliding around before the computer takes charge. The chassis electronics have a new "Integrated Chassis Management" computer that ties everything together using the new high-speed real-time FlexRay bus standard.

The interior is similar to the E60 545i, but gives an extra 1" in shoulder room for each occupant, and an extra 1.4" in headroom for the front seats. The iDrive and heads-up display have been upgraded to a larger screen and newer software including an integrated hard drive and an upgraded navigation system.

Park distance control and cameras all around the car give the driver views of where the car is displayed on the iDrive screen during low speed manoeuvres  A camera at the front of the car tracks the lane markers to give a notification if the driver is drifting out of their lane, and also notifies if coming up too fast to the car in front. The car will also notify in case a car is in the blind spot when a lane change is begun. The high beams can be set to automatically dim if the camera spots another car ahead.

Gas mileage and emissions are both decent, though not amongst the best by any means. The car gets 14 mpg city and 22 mpg highway, and meets California's LEV II emission standards. This is standard for this class of high-performance car, and is actually a pretty amazing feat of engineering considering the power of the engine!

BMW has done some amazing things in coming up with this car, and the automotive engineering industry in general has done amazing things that BMW has built upon. In subsequent posts I will go into more detail on the various sub-systems of the car including engine, chassis, transmission, suspension, brakes, electronics, and so on.