2012 BMW M5: Now BMW make the M5 official

2012 BMW M5 - Officially £73k

The launch of the 2012 BMW M5 was planned for next week at the M Festival at the Nurburgring. But the best laid plans…

This morning we reported on a leak of official photos of the new BMW M5 – a decent selection, if a bit low-res – and speculated that BMW would end up making the new M5 official sooner rather than later. And they have.

We’ve already said how we’re impressed by the subtle aggression the new M5 offers; just some butch sills and gaping air ducts at the front to swallow the air the new 4.4 litre, twin turbo V8 needs set the M5 apart from its lesser siblings. Well, that and a nice set of 19″ alloys.

Power from that V8 is a bit less than we expected – 552bhp and 502lb/ft of torque – yet it is still enough to push the M5 to 62mph in 4.4 seconds and twice that in 13 seconds.

Economy averages out at 28.5mpg – although if you ever get that you should start wearing leather patches on your elbows – and the carbons (because the tax man cares) come in at 232g/km.

Power is up by 10 per cent and torque by an earth-turning 30 per cent and there’s no doubt the new M5 is going to feel a lot livelier than the old model.

All that torque is fed to the M-Specific chassis setup - including tuned servotronic steering and adjustable damping and stability – through a seven-speed, dual clutch ‘box with paddle shifts and a new M Diff with electronically controlled limited slip diff.

Prices start at £73,04o and the 2012 BMW M5 goes on sale in the UK in November.

And looks set to be the sector’s benchmark.

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By Cars UK