The new BMW 5 Series arrives in UK showrooms next month and has already been well-received by the press. That’s for the volume models, though. What happens when you turn the wick up a bit?
We will soon find out: BMW has now revealed the M550i xDrive V8 version, part of its M Performance line-up. It’s not quite a full-fat M-car, but it’s the next-best thing – and with 0-62mph taking just 4.0-seconds, you could hardly call it slow…
A twin-turbo 4.4-litre petrol V8 produces 462hp but it’s the grippy all-wheel drive that’s just as important in making it so fast off the line. Only a spoilsport speed limiter stops the fun on the German autobahn at 155mph. Rather implausibly, the new M550i will also average 31.7mpg.
The four-wheel drive is biased to the rear wheels, to make it feel livelier, and will help us get used to the idea BMW’s next M5 will also be all-wheel drive. It has M-tuned steering, brakes and exhaust as well.
But if you’re looking at the images and wondering why we’ve used shots of the cooking BMW 520d M Sport, fear not. The M550i xDrive really is this discreet. The bodykit is subtle, meaning the big giveaways are the Cerium Grey-coloured door mirrors and kidney grille, plus blue brake calipers.
Reflecting its core market, the M550i xDrive debuts at the Detroit Motor Show later this month, before arriving in showrooms in the spring. As an appetiser for the upcoming new M5, it’s a tasty one.
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