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BMW M550i vs. M550d Acceleration Isn't Just about Power

The M Performance versions of the 5 Series are a little old, their place at the top of the totem pole being taken by the M5. But they are still among the fastest German-made sedans right now.
BMW M550i vs. M550d Acceleration Isn't Just about Power 1 photo
Photo: YouTube screenshot
Of course, if you live in the United States, you won't be able to buy the M550d because of the emissions problem. And if you live in Europe, chances are you can't get a new M550i either because it needs to be fitted with a particle filter.

So basically, this is a useless video, but my God is it enjoyable. Those BMW digital dashboards aren't as flexible as those made by Audi and Mercedes, but they look sportier, especially when they're red like that.

Of course, you don't need an M 5 Series to get the red dials, but you'll be missing out on a lot of power. Sometimes the diesel performance model has the bigger engine, like in the case of the Audi SQ7. But here, it's the other way around, as the M550d's 3-liter is dwarfed by the 4.4-liter in the i version.

But thanks to a quad-turbo setup, the six-cylinder manages to produce precisely 400 HP. While that's 62 less than the M550i, torque is up 110 Nm at 760. The output still goes through a ZF 8speed automatic, which is standard like on many G30 5 Series models. As such, the acceleration is quite similar. While the official numbers tell us there's a 0.4-second gap between the two, this video suggests they are much closer, almost even to a point.

Torque gives you acceleration and power gives you speed. So while they are neck-and-neck at first. The M550i reaches 250 km/h while the diesel model is only at 235 km/h. There seems to be a higher emphasis on luxury with these models, so neither has the Alcantara interior that made M Performance models famous. Wood on a 4-second sedan? Seems a little strange.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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