Mostly it competes against the Mercedes-AMG E63 S. Both are colossally powerful V8 turbo saloons with mostly four-wheel drive but a RWD mode for when you just don’t like your rear tyres any more. Anyway, despite the name, it isn’t really for competition as in motorsport. Too heavy and complicated.Well, Competition versions of the BMW M cars are like the standard single-digit vehicles, but with a bit more of an edge to them. You’ll have recently seen our piece on the ruddy brilliant M2 Competition . That car entirely replaces the regular M2. Whereas the M5 Competition sits above the regular M5, which continues on sale.In simple numbers, it’s like this: Power: 616bhp versus the M5’s 592bhp Torque: stays the same at 553lb ft 0-125mph: 10.8sec versus 11.2sec Price: £96,205 versus £89,705Not a lot actually. The engine is actually the same as before, but chipped. “We knew when we developed the original engine that the rivals would soon be at this power so we protected for it,” an engineer tells Top Gear. But it does now have a petrol particulate filter to clean the exhaust further. It’s also got sports pipes and silencer, so you hear a slightly more military noise. And bigger grilles at the front of the car make sure it can get enough cooling air in any foreseeable circumstance.It’s worth staying, honest. There are subtle but notable changes to the chassis. The height is lowered by 7mm, and so it’s stuffer-sprung. Dampers are firmer, and there’s slightly different suspension geometry all-round, with different toe and camber settings and a stiffer rear anti-roll bar. Also, the engine is mounted more rigidly, which should sharpen the chassis responses by inhibiting that mass from moving around in the car.It’s a monster on the road. It’s big, mind, so it needs space to operate, and it’s heavy so it doesn’t like tight turns. But once it hits its stride it’s amazing, with huge grip, vast reserves of traction and torque to haul it out of bends, and some sense it’s involving you in things. Not a lot, but some. And yes, that V8 really is mighty. The eight-speed autobox covers for lag, and it does sing as it works its way through the revs, surging to its 7,200rpm red-line with even more venom thanks to the new chip and pipe. Not the thunder of an AMG engine, but engaging and a bit more sociably stealthy.On a track, as on say a clear A-road roundabout, the drill is to manage the weight of the nose into the corner. Get too greedy and it’ll understeer. But once you’re in, there’s immense grip and precision, and indeed playfulness. With the electronics (centre and rear diffs, and the DSC) in their M settings, it will really squirm its tail. Provided you wind the lock in the right direction, it’ll let you use the power to ride that attitude well out of the bend without shutting down. And this, remember is in the 4WD setup. In fast corners, it manages the weight well, but it tells you how hard it’s trying. And there isn’t honestly a lot of steering feel. You’ll be wanting the £7,495 carbon ceramic brakes if you’re going to do this often.The toughened-up suspension really doesn’t like broken or lumpy roads. Think hard about the Competition version if it’s like that where you drive. It needs a smooth surface.It’s complicated. A real week-with-the-instruction-manual job. You’ve got all the luxury features - even the available highly assisted driving gubbins - of the 5-Series range. To add to the potential for bewilderment, the M5 has various modes for the dampers, steering, engine, transmission, 4WD system, exhaust, skid-control systems and even a racey mode for the HUD. All six of those have their own buttons or menus. But you can shortcut combos and program them onto the red M1 and M2 buttons on the steering wheel. Gulp.Good question. Even BMW M people agree that while lots of people take their M2s and M3s and M4s onto a track (about one in five), very few M5 owners can see the point of doing that. It’s just too heavy, and too remote. That shortage of sensations can also take away the fun of an M5 on the road. That said, the Competition version is a bit more intimate. So in the end it’s a drastically rapid luxury car. A means to propel you and your friends and your electric seats and soft-close doors at rates too rapid to exploit on the road. It’s simply nowhere near the simple fun of an M2. But perhaps that’s the appeal. It’s always got something in reserve.Good question. In a car this heavy, that material is no more than an expensive token gesture. But that’s the way with the M5. It’s about what it can, not about what it actually will.<doc-sep>2019 BMW M5 Competition does 0-100 km/h in 3.3 seconds, tops out at 305 km/h BMW has released full details about the range-topping M5, as well as a huge photo gallery BMW has released a boatload of new photos featuring the M5 Competition, as well as detailed information about the range-topping version of its high-performance sedan. Packing 25 hp more than the standard model for a total of 625 hp (616 bhp), the M5 Competition is also said to offer more direct responses and bespoke chassis tuning “for a race-inspired driving experience at all times.” The 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 engine produces 625 hp at 6,000 rpm and 750 Nm (553 lb-ft) of peak torque from 1,800 to 5,800 rpm — it has a 200-rpm broader band than the standard M5. Combined with the high-revving nature of the eight-cylinder engine, these updates allow the M5 Competition to go from 0 to 100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 3.3 seconds and from 0 to 200 km/h (0-124 mph) in 10.8 seconds — 0.3 seconds quicker than the stock M5. The top speed is limited at 250 km/h (155 mph), but the optional M Driver’s Package ditches the electronic limiter to unlock 305 km/h (190 mph). The souped-up engine barks through a twin-pipe, flap-controlled M Sport exhaust system with black chrome tailpipe tips that generate “a strikingly prominent soundtrack.” Furthermore, specially designed engine mounts contribute to making the car more responsive and quicker through turns. The engine is mated to an eight-speed M Steptronic transmission that offers three driving modes for efficient, sporty or ultra-dynamic driving, as well as the rear-biased M xDrive system that works with the Active M Differential to put down the power without any losses. Should the driver want a more tail-happy car, M xDrive offers a rear-wheel-drive-only setting (2WD). Compared to the standard BMW M5, the Competition version is 7-mm lower and comes with specific chassis tuning that affects the suspension, springs, and dampers. Highlights include 10-percent stiffer springs, increased camber at the front axle, firmer spring rate for the rear anti-roll bar, and shorter auxiliary springs aimed at reducing fluctuation in wheel loads. The BMW M5 Competition comes equipped as standard with exclusive 20-inch M light-alloy wheels in a Y-spoke design and bi-color finish. The rims are shod with mixed-size tires: 275/35 R20 at the front and 285/35 R20 at the rear. You’ll be able to recognize the M5 Competition thanks to subtle styling tweaks including the high-gloss black kidney grille surround, decorative mesh of the BMW M gills, BMW Individual high-gloss Shadow Line trim, and the trim for the rear bumper covering and mirror caps. The door openers are painted fully in the body color, and the rear spoiler and “M5” boot lid badge are in high-gloss black. Inside, the seat belts gain a stripe design in BMW M colors, badged floor mats with special piping, and the “M Competition” graphic that appears in the instrument cluster at startup. READ MORE: All you need to know about the BMW M2 Competition<doc-sep>Not long ago it seemed that the BMW M5 was irreversibly sliding toward a midlife crisis. The F10 model carried the misguided swagger of a frat boy with the neglected body of a 26-year-old going on 40. But in 2018, the F90 M5 delivered a swift about-face. Instead of succumbing to the inevitability of middle age, it went to the gym, shaping up and slimming down. So if the 2018 M5 was the model to finally get off the couch and hit the treadmill, then the 2019 M5 Competition is a Tough Mudder, an ultra-marathon runner, an extreme athlete willing to go the distance and then some. See all 79 photos See all 79 photos Previously an option package, Competition is now a standalone model for 2019, geared to the customer who demands even sharper reflexes for track days and is even willing to sacrifice a bit of daily-driving comfort in exchange for more dialed-in performance at the limit. Power comes from the same twin-turbo 4.4-liter V-8 as the M5, gaining a bump in power from 600 to 617 hp. It's channeled through the same eight-speed automatic and drives all four wheels (a two-wheel-drive mode is available). All that hot air routes through a standard sports exhaust out back. Nail the throttle, and the M5 wastes no time punching a hole in the atmosphere. BMW estimates the M5 Competition will leap from 0 to 60 in 3.1 seconds, but in Motor Trend's First Test of the regular M5, we recorded a petechia-inducing time of 3.0 seconds. Could the M5 Competition break the 3.0-second barrier? But of course, straight-line speed is only a small fraction of the M5 Competition's raison d'être. "It's more than just upping the power," says BMW M CEO Frank Van Meel. "It's in the way the car drives." So in addition to more power, BMW firmed up connections throughout the car. Springs are stiffer by 10 percent, and the vehicle also rides 0.27-inch lower. Ball joints replace rubber mounts on the toe links at the rear axle, while up front, the anti-roll bar mountings have been redesigned and camber has been increased. Even the engine mounts have been stiffened by 50 percent. The result: a car that bends, bobs, and weaves even less than the already-stout M5. See all 79 photos See all 79 photos See all 79 photos See all 79 photos Flingable? Tossable? Yes. The M5 Competition approaches corners with a sprightly demeanor, eager, and agile. Although the M5 Competition is expected to carry the same curb weight as the M5, the increased overall rigidity makes it a lot more enjoyable to throw that mass around. The last M5 we tested weighed in at 4,268 pounds, which is only 200 pounds heavier than the college-weight 1999 E39 M5—made all the more impressive given the all-wheel-drive components and 20 years of safety improvements. The M5 Competition is also the lightweight contender in its category, besting the Audi RS7 (4,407 pounds), Mercedes-AMG E 63 S (4,581 pounds), and the Porsche Panamera Turbo (a cheeseburger-diet-worthy 4,662 pounds). This lighter mass is instantly noticeable as I take the M5 Competition for a few laps around the wildly entertaining Ascari racetrack on the outskirts of Ronda, Spain. This private track includes turns with such charming names as The Screw, Piff-Paff, and The Kink. High-speed straights are followed by blind corners and sudden elevation changes. It's as fun as it is demanding. As I rocket out of the last turn onto the front straight, the M5 Competition schusses down the tarmac as if carving through fresh powder. The transmission is brilliant in its anticipation, trading gears up and down with a swift, keen intuition. In manual mode, I hit the rev limiter several times until I familiarize myself with the upper ranges of the V-8's aural cadence: The increase in frequency doesn't bring along a sense of corresponding urgency. It lacks the telltale note of an engine singing at the height of redline, ready to drop an octave in search of more rpms to devour. Blame the overboosted M Sound soundtrack, which pipes through the stereo speakers a literal false note—call it exhaust tuning by Bowers & Wilkins. Yes, yes, I get it; right now you're a race car. If any engine configuration deserves to naturally show off the combustible fruits of its labor, it's the burbly beauty of a V-8. Keep the flaps open on the pipes and dial down the digital enhancement, and you've got yourself a winner. See all 79 photos See all 79 photos On the opposite end of the spectrum, the steering feel is as absent as the exhaust note is prominent. Though BMW has made strides on rediscovering the joys of tactile sensation, there's still a disconnect between the wheels on the ground and the wheel beneath my hands. The only time I feel something approaching feedback is when the lane departure warning vibrates the wheel. BMW engineers have proven they can program a mode for every occasion. So how about this: I'd love to see a Natural mode added to the mix, delivering a purity of steering feel and exhaust note. The rest of the M5 Competition experience is so visceral, so thrilling, so involving. It's only fair that these two components exhibit that same sensorial impact. Speaking of the senses, sharp eyes will pick up the exclusive visual changes on the M5 Competition, beginning with the black "M5 Competition" badge on the trunk. Elsewhere, high-gloss black trim abounds, replacing body-color bits on the mirror caps, rear apron insert, and Gurney lip on the trunklid, while the chrome found on the tailpipes, side gills, and front grille also give way to the same high-gloss black. Exterior door handles lose their brightwork in exchange for a full body color treatment. The overall effect imbues the M5 Competition with a subtle yet sinister shadow, though the blacked-out kidneys look more like two amoebae on the verge of symbiosis than an iconic design element. Fun Fact: When the M5 debuted back in 1985, it was the fastest production sedan in the world. According to Van Meel, it was built out of necessity: It turns out the security detail had trouble keeping up with BMW's CEO of on high-speed autobahn runs, so they appealed to the M racing division for help. Van Meel sees the M5 Competition as a worthy successor to that legacy: a no-compromises sports car that just happens to have four doors and a trunk. Available now, the M5 Competition starts at $110,995, commanding a $7,300 price premium over the standard M5, but well worth the cost if frequent track days are in your future. The M5 Competition completes the about-face from its paunchy predecessor and charges headlong into middle age with a renewed sense of focus and vigor. See all 79 photos See all 79 photos<doc-sep>
Photo credit: Car and Driver From Car and Driver After the mild disappointment of its emotion-lite predecessor, the current BMW M5 marks a welcome return to form for the Motorsport division’s biggest sedan (we’re not even going to pretend that the M760i qualifies as a true M car). But BMW’s model-development program moves to a staccato drumbeat these days, and less than a year after the regular M5 went on sale, we’ve now driven the new, fractionally turned-up Competition version. The new car marks the transition from an option package to a separate trim level, one that’s hairier than the standard M5 but some way short of the black-hearted transformation wrought to BMW models such as the M3 CS or the M4 GTS. Unlike the new M2 Competition, the M5 Competition doesn’t replace the regular M5. Instead it will be sold alongside it, carrying a $7300 premium and boasting a modest increase in power, firmer suspension settings, and some very subtle cosmetic tweaks-the most obvious being the Competition label that now appears beneath the M5 badge on the decklid. Photo credit: Car and Driver The M5’s twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V-8 has its own engine code-S63B44T4-and you can read about how it differs from BMW’s regular non-M V-8 of the same displacement here. The increase to 617 horsepower is pretty much a rounding error on the regular M5’s 600. Peak torque remains unchanged at 553 lb-ft, but it’s available across a fractionally broader rev range, all the way from 1800 to 5860 rpm. That means the BMW has more power than the Mercedes-AMG E63 S, but less torque. BMW claims a 3.1-second sprint to 60 mph, 0.1 second better than its claim for the regular M5, but considering that we recorded a 2.8-second zero-to-60-mph time in the standard M5, that number is sure to be unduly pessimistic. The M5 Competition certainly feels brutally fast, although it’s subjectively no quicker than the regular car. As in the stock M5, the Competition’s all-wheel-drive system gives a sense of on-power security that no previous generation of M5 could approach. It will tolerate full-throttle starts and being hoofed out of corners without drama or complaint. There’s a hint of lag to the engine below 3000 rpm, something that can be detected only with manual gear selection, but once the turbos are spinning there is huge urge all the way to the rev cutoff. The Competition also gets a switchable sport exhaust that in its louder setting adds more bass and crackle to the regular M5’s already muscular soundtrack, even if it can’t quite match the crispness of the E63 S’s high-rev timbre. Story continues Photo credit: Car and Driver The suspension changes have yielded a more obvious result. These are tweaks rather than radical alterations, but as tends to be the case with M’s magic tinkering, the overall effect feels considerably greater than the relatively modest sum of the parts. The Competition sits on springs that are about 10 percent stiffer than those of the regular car, and the adaptive dampers have been retuned accordingly. Geometry changes at the front have given more front camber, with revised anti-roll bar mounts also tightening the relationship between the front tires and the steering wheel. The engine has gained firmer mounts, and the rear axle has ball joints in place of the stock M5’s rubber bushings, as well as a heftier anti-roll bar. On the Andalusian mountain roads of our drive route, the Competition felt like a slightly firmed-up M5. Although noticeable, the changes haven’t added any significant harshness, and in the suspension’s Comfort mode the damping is still impressively pliant. Switched to Sport, it didn’t feel excessively harsh even over rough road surfaces at speed. The steering does feel slightly more direct than in the regular M5, with incisive front-end responses and huge reserves of grip. While there were no opportunities to assess this M5’s abilities as a high-speed cruiser, we can report it was capable of some knuckle-whitening speeds even on short straights. Photo credit: Car and Driver The Competition defaults to the M5’s standard all-wheel-drive mode whenever the car is started, although it is capable of a rear-biased torque split; it always prioritizes traction over any of the rear-led handling balance that used to be a key M5 characteristic.