I just got my new "Automobile" magazine today and they are going over upcoming cars and they had the new M5. Here is what they are saying :

500 hp
369 lb.-ft. of torque
8300 rpm redline
6 speed manual or SMG
0-60 in 4.5 seconds (probably factory conservative)

While that is 31 more hp than the E55, it is a whopping 147 lb.ft. torque LESS than the E55. I hope this is a typo. That is only 1 lb./ft more torque than the current M5. If this is the final figure that is disappointing.

 

BMW stayin NA is a good thing...

weighing around 5g's isn't..

 

What did you expect from a high-strung NA engine?

 

why is this disappointing? who cares about #s, let's see how it performs.

 

It's not that bad. 73ft*lbs/Liter on a 5 Liter engine. Certainly not groundbreaking, not bad though.

 

Torque really doesn't matter when you have 500hp and tight gearing. This car is going to run very low 12's.

 

Have we really gotten to the point where 500/369 is considered weak? Perhaps a Top Fuel dragster is more to your liking....

 

torque to the ground is more important and what really matters.

multiply the m5's torque through the gears and multiply the e55's torque through the gears and see what #s you get.

 

What's the engine displacement? It should have more torque if it's over 5.0 liters. Especially in a massive sedan. I say they have a misprint or BMW is slipping further. Peak bhp doesn't mean much, especially (again) in a sedan that won't be used as an interim track day special. Perhaps they've placed this hifh revving jewel of an [sports car] engine in an ubber sedan. If so, BMW needs to redress "Powertrain Matching 101."

 

ok i cant find the gear ratios for the new M5 but lets use the current M3 and C32 AMG as examples


M3 269 ft lb torque 1st gear 4.23:1, final drive 3.62:1
C32 332 ft lb torque 1st gear 3.59:1, final drive 3.06:1

lets assume the torque curve is relatively flat through the rev range for these two cars ( it is for the M3 )

now you will cry omg omg omg the mercedes has 63 ft lb more torque than the m3. but if u calculate the actual torque being put to the ground

in 1st gear the m3 is putting 4119 ft lbs to the wheels while the mercedes is putting 3647 ft lbs to the wheels. (need to divide this number by wheel radius to see what the torque is to the ground....)