First there was the standard BMW M5, then there was the M5 First Edition and now, there’s the BMW M5 Competition – a 625 hp / 750 Nm Hulk for those mad enough to think that the standard model isn’t potent enough.
The new M5 Competition gets a 25 hp increment but retains similar torque figures at 750 Nm from the 4.4-litre V8 M TwinPower Turbo engine. Power is channeled through an 8-speed M Steptronic transmission, onward to all four wheels, managed by the rear-biased M xDrive system.
As a result, the M5 Competition’s improved power delivery propels it to 100 km/h from standstill in 3.3 seconds, just 0.1 second faster than the standard model – quite a farce really, for such meager reductions in acceleration times.
0 to 200 km/h is where the difference is more noteworthy. The M5 Competition is 0.3 seconds faster to 200 km/h than the standard model, completing the run in just 10.8 seconds. Now you go try the same feat with your standard issue BMW and get some sense of perspective of how quick the M5 Competition is.
Standard equipment in the M5 Competition includes a model-specific M Sport exhaust system with tailpipes in black chrome. It’s also got model-specific engine mountings, where increased spring rate and firmer connections to the vehicle’s structure results in even more direct engine response and immediate power transfer to the drivetrain.
The car also corners with noticeably greater directness and precision, credit to the mounting’s stiffer characteristics. Having been lowered by 7 mm, camber in the front axle had also been increased to absorb lateral forces through high-speed corners.
The rear anti-roll bar gets a firmer spring rate while the front axle gets a newly-designed mounting for the anti-roll bars. The springs at the front and back are 10% stiffer than the standard M5 for an even more responsive steering.
The M5 Competition can be distinguished by the “Competition lettering” on the boot lid, a different mesh on the BMW M gills, the exterior mirror caps and the body-coloured door handles.
The market launch of the new BMW M5 Competition sparks the beginning of a new product category. In the future, BMW M GmbH will offer the most powerful variants of its high-performance cars as standalone models.
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