BMW M5 pre-production first drive
evo's Chris Harris gets his hands on a pre production version of the new M5.

The crowds’ favorite automotive journalist, Chris Harris of EVO Magazine, give us again a memorable review. Following up on his first article on the new BMW M5, Harris takes us back to Sweden where he had to opportunity to spend some time on ice with the F10 M5.

Here are some of his initial impressions of the new M5:

What’s it like to drive?
Is turbocharging a highlight? When it makes a car this flexible and plain accelerative, it has to be. Yes, the near-insanity of the old V10 makes way for slightly reduced throttle response, but it’s marginal. On a Swedish lake, you can still make tiny adjustments to sustain that all-important 1km drift. Does it feel turbocharged? A little bit. Does it make enough induction noise? No. But this isn’t the finished car, the BMW M-gurus insist that the final product will be different in this respect.

I only drove the car on snow, ice and the occasional patch of asphalt. It felt like an M-car in the correct sense: purposeful, but not too aggressive. The steering, chassis and powertrain each have three modes: comfort, sport and sport-plus, giving a myriad of options. The MDM (M Driving Mode) brings a higher threshold DSC intervention that requires steering correction from the driver, or you spin, It works brilliantly. Switch it all off and you have a circa 560bhp, rear-wheel-drive saloon with an LSD. If you can’t enjoy that, you’re a wally.”

Now, let’s have a look at the new video.

YouTube - 2011 BMW M5 on Ice

[Source: EVO TV via BMWBLOG]

 

I heard rumors of an X-Drive Variant!

 

"Feels like a successor to the E39 and not the E60"

From his impressions you can tell that he really likes the new M5 and I think he said just at the end that it will be the top of the class. Waiting impatiently for more reviews.