Had a nice chat to "somebody" last night and due to his high blood alcohol level (food was excellent too Smiley), I got some info on the new upcoming BMW M5.

- engine power output equal or a tiny bit lower than X5/X6 M (which is quite a surprise because so far, rumors indicated something around 570-580 HP)

- exhaust sound improved over X5/X6M due to a new design of the complete intake/exhaust system (also responsible for the lower than anticipated power figure)

- weight: BMW tries to keep the weight slightly below 2 tons but it isn't easy

- xDrive tested too, maybe optional later on

- rumored performance figures: 0-100 kph in 4 seconds, 0-200 kph slightly under 13 seconds

- optional M Driver's Package raising top speed to 310 kph

Maybe these rumors aren't something spectacular but I thought it is worth sharing them with you.

As always: rumors should be taken with a grain of salt, sometimes they are intentionally communicated to us, just to throw us off the track. Smiley Smiley

Last but not least: apparently somebody at M GmbH wants more power and a better performance to stay ahead of the competition since the new M5 is planned for an end of 2011 arrival. This could mean that we actually see a substantial increase in engine power and some other goodies but since BMW M GmbH also plans to stay below the competition's cars price tag, I'm not sure how this is going to work out for them.

This makes the confusion perfect, right ?! Smiley


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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 997 Turbo, BMW X5 M, BMW M3 Cab DKG, Mini Cooper S JCW