New BMW M5 unveiled

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

The Weekend Herald is the first newspaper in the world to show what the autobahn-storming new BMW M5 looks like.

BMW's head office embargoed the pictures until 6pm German time on July 2 - last night in the Northern Hemisphere. Other New Zealand newspapers aren't expected even to have the pictures today.

The only other readers in the Southern Hemisphere to clap eyes on the M5 this morning will be Australians - two hours and more behind Herald readers.

The fourth-generation M5 is the first of the high-performance sedans from the Munich carmaker to use a high-revving, Formula One-inspired V10 engine.

The all-alloy unit produces 378kW (507bhp) at 8250rpm and peak torque of 520Nm of 6100rpm and drives the rear wheels through an all-new seven-speed sequential gearbox. More than 80 per cent (450Nm) of torque is available from 3500rpm.

BMW says the M5 goes from zero to 100km/h in under five seconds and on to 200km/h in 15 seconds.

Top speed is around 330km/h - or would be if it wasn't electronically governed at 250km/h under an agreement between BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi.

The new V10 develops 25 per cent more power than the outgoing M5's 298kW 5.0-litre V8 but weighs about the same.

The new car's suspension is an uprated version of the all-aluminium set-up in the current 5-Series, with the addition of an electronic damper system offering three ride settings - comfort, normal and sport.