It’s got a carbon fibre roof and is lighter than the last model
Despite adding an all-wheel drive system, the new M5 is going to be lighter than the outgoing model, which weighed 1870kg but it’s hard to say how much lighter at this stage. That said, some weight will be saved via the carbon fibre roof – the first ever on an M5 – but the roof will be steel if you opt for a sunroof. Other weight saving comes from its aluminium frame, lithium ion battery and new electric power steering, but then there’s the all-wheel drive system adding weight back in.
700Nm is weak compared to the Merc E63’s 850Nm from a smaller capacity V8. I thought it was going to be 750Nm, but still well down on the Merc.
It’s an impressive engine in the Mercedes. The M5 will be a fair bit lighter though (in the region of 150-200kg) and the new turbo design might bring more torque lower in the rev range. It’ll be a good battle no doubt. – Alex
If the new M5 is 100kg lighter than the old then it should be ~ 150kg lighter than the E63, but 1700kg would be impressive for such a loaded beast as the M5. I can’t beleive it would be even lighter in the 1650kg range, but that would be epically good. Buy a second hand one in 5 years when it down to about $70K
Yes, 150kg difference to the Merc. If BMW managed to put in an AWD system and drop 150kg from the previous M5, that would be very impressive. – Alex