The new BMW M5 promises to take driving dynamics into a new dimension. Making its debut in the sixth generation of the high-performance saloon is the M-specific all-wheel-drive system called M xDrive. Not only does this drive system enable the M5 to reach new heights of dynamic performance, it means that it excels in terms of everyday practicality and delivers supreme poise in all driving conditions as well.
The car’s ability to juggle complete suitability for everyday use on the one hand and sheer driving pleasure and superb track performance on the other is down to the M xDrive system’s central intelligent control capability.
When the engine is first started, the new M5 will be in all-wheel-drive mode (4WD) with Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) switched on. The driver is then able to vary the handling characteristics of the M5 by activating various driving dynamics modes, including a rear-wheel-drive mode with no DSC. In this 2WD mode, the new M5 allows accomplished drivers to enjoy a pure-bred form of driving pleasure.
Hard at work under the bonnet of the new M5 is the latest and most advanced version of the 4.4-litre V8 engine featuring M TwinPower Turbo technology.
Power output of 600bhp and peak torque of 750Nm promise supreme propulsive power and formidable performance. The twin-turbo V8 motor propels the new M5 from 0 to 100 km/h in a mere 3.4 seconds.
The task of relaying the drive power falls to the new 8-speed M Steptronic transmission with Drivelogic, which teams up with the M xDrive system to transfer the high-revving engine’s turbocharged might to the road to optimum effect in all driving conditions.
The upshot of all this is that the new BMW M5 is not just the fastest of all the M5 models built since 1984, but the most nimble, too. 
Read about our experience driving the first five generations of the BMW M5 in Germany.
