BMW’s flagship performance sedan gets a nip and tuck

The M5 in its current incarnation has been with us for a little over a year now. It’s still relatively fresh in terms of model cycles, but being Germans, the engineers at BMW have obviously decided to update the M5 and keep it at the top of its game. Welcome everyone, to the 2014 BMW M5. 

From the outside, nothing much has changed. The alloy wheels have a new design, and there are a selection of new paint schemes, including a few ‘Frozen’ matt finishes. Poke your nose inside the cabin, and you’d notice similarly limited changes too; just an updated steering wheel and enlarged storage space beneath the armrest.

The 4.4-litre V8 remains, but with the addition of the optional Competition Package, power is bosted by 15bhp. To help manage the extra power and to improve the car’s handling, the boffins at BMW’s M division have fiddled with the chassis, and added new coil springs and damper calibrations. Thicker and stiffer anti-roll bars have been added to further increase rigidity, and Carbon Ceramic brakes are available as an option too. All the alterations result in an M5 that has a lower centre of gravity and less body roll through the corners.

So what performance gains do you get from all the updates? BMW expects the 0-100km/h time to be 0.1 seconds less than the standard model, with improved cornering dynamics and tractability.

When BMW first introduced the F10 M5, many complained about the relative lack of exhaust noise as compared to its V10-powered predecessor. Sure, it may give one less aural pleasure, but the performance gains more than made up for it. However, in terms of aesthetics, BMW still has some way to go before the F10 could look anywhere near as good as its grandfathers.