Now that the G30 incarnation of the BMW 5 Series is among us, we don't have too much waiting to do until the Bavarians introduce the new range-topper. The F90 M5 is now in the final stage of its development, so the prototypes go berserk on the Nurburgring.
This is precisely what we're here to show you, with the 2018 BMW M5 test car in the piece of footage below devouring one Green Hell corner after another.
You can see that the massive sedan needs quite a bit of convincing before letting its rear end go, which is only natural given the newfound all-wheel-drive nature of the Bimmer.
Motivation is expected to come from a reworked version of the twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 that animates the outgoing M5. Speaking of which, since the new M550i manages to be quicker than the F10 M5 while only packing 456 hp and 480 lb-ft of twist, we can only imagine what the new M5 will be capable of.
An optimistic 0 to 60 mph estimation would sit at 3.5 seconds, while the Nurburgring lap time will definitely be monstrous for a vehicle of this size.
The extreme side of the rumor mill talks about the BMW M engineers having developed a new 4.0-liter V8 for the fresh M5, while also mentioning that the powerplant could be shared with Jaguar Land Rover, thus replacing the latter's aging 5.0-liter supercharged V8. Nevertheless, since we haven't received any serious clues that could support this rumor, we'd take it with a grain of salt.
Sticking to the unofficial report area, we'll mention that certain aficionados expect the dual-clutch DCT tranny that can usually be found on M machines to make room for a torque converter unit that can handle the task of sending the massive power to all four wheels.
BMW will allow us to meet the F90 M5 by the end of the year and we should get to see the super-sedan on the street early in 2018.
In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News