BMW M unveiled today the BMW M5 Facelift at the 2013 M Festival.
Albert Biermann, Head of Engineering at M, and Thomas Schemera, Marketing Director for BMW M, introduced visual and power upgrades to the popular sporty sedan. Along with styling updates, the M folks also debuted the Competition Package with its 575 horsepower.
BMW M engineers have applied extensive modifications to the chassis set-up as well. Along with the suspension and damping systems, the stabilizer bars have also been more tautly tuned. In the BMW M5 this adjustment has resulted in a lowering of the car by around 10 millimeters. The potential inherent in the rear axle design – based on the race-derived principle of the rear axle subframe being bolted to the body – and the even more precisely calculated elastokinematics for the front axle are exploited to the full in the models featuring the Competition Package, with the aim of enhancing driving precision.
The Competition Package was specifically devised to boost the handling properties of the BMW M5 and it costs a bit over 9,000 euros in Germany. In addition, the newly developed M carbon ceramic brakes have been available as an option since March 2013.
With the Competition Package, the M Dynamic mode of the DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) system is even more acutely geared to sporty handling characteristics. The package additionally includes exclusively designed 20-inch M light-alloy wheels along with a sport exhaust system featuring customary M twin tailpipes in black chrome that lend an unmistakable sporty note to both the look and the sound of the car.
The M “kidney grille”, which now features the model designation and whose slats cite the double-spoke design of the M light alloys. An option of Adaptive LED Headlights is now offered. A standard feature on the BMW M5 are the taillights with strikingly thin LED light strips that generate a high contrast and add to the unmistakable night-time look.
The interior of the sedan has also gained an increase in volume of the storage compartment under the armrest in the centre console area. The Control Display of the standard-fitted iDrive operating system now features chrome trim on the sides. For the first time, an optional Touch Controller is available with a touch-sensitive surface allowing, for example, characters to be entered when programming a destination for the navigation system.
As of July, BMW Individual will be offering a range of new exterior colours for the BMW M5 (Pure Metal Silver, Pyrite Brown metallic, Frozen Blue metallic and further BMW Individual matt paintwork finishes), as well as exclusive leather shades (Cashmere Beige and Nutmeg).
The model introduced at the M Festival was painted in the Frozen Blue metallic color. In person the M5 sedan is a stunner and BMW M says that it was really hard to improve an already competitive and dominant M5. The new headlights are quickly becoming a darling of BMW fans, as the M6 Coupe discovered itself, and the iDrive Touch inside takes BMW into the world of tactile devices and seamless touch controls.
The new Frozen Blue color reminds us of ALPINA paint jobs. The matte metallic is a nice inclusion in the BMW Individual catalog, but it remains to be seen if it will be available for the Competition Package only.
