BMW M5 news - BMW reveals new M5 concept - 2011

Last week, we scrambled a Top Gear correspondent to Munich to have a look at the new BMW M5. We promised not to say anything until they released some pictures. And here they are. So we shall spill some beans.
 
Officially it’s only a concept, but that’s what BMW said about the recent 6-Series cabriolet, which barely changed when it reached final production-spec. So the muscled, scoopy thing you see here is what will hit showrooms, give or take the odd detail like the wheel design.

See more pictures of the M5 concept

The last M5 had a V10, but that’s gone, replaced by a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8, similar to the engine found in the X5M. So it’s torquier than the outgoing version, but the engineers say it also revs high. And although they stared silently when we asked about power, they didn’t shrug too much when we suggested somewhere around 550bhp.
 
And whereas the old car had a rather violent SMG, this one will deliver power to the rear wheels via a seven-speed double-clutch ’box.
 
More details will be announced at the Shanghai motor show later this month, when we’ll get a look inside it too. Our spy will be ready.