BMW already won us over with the 2018 M5 super sedan. On Tuesday, it hit the gas on a more potent Competition model.
The M5 Competition arrives for 2019, joining a M2 Competition unveiled in April.
With slightly more power, specific suspension tune and enhancements, and new engine mounts, the M5 Competition does what the M5 does, once more, with feeling.
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2019 BMW M5 Compettiion
Under the hood the burly 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8 engine now produces 617 horsepower–up 17 horses over the standard M5–while torque stays at 553 pound-feet. BMW doesn't say how the extra horsepower is achieved, but we'd trace it to the new M Sport exhaust system, which allows the M5 Competition to breath easier.
The result is a 0-60 mph sprint of just 3.1 seconds, 0.1 seconds quicker than the standard M5. BMW says the M5 Competition will sprint from 0-124 mph in 10.8 seconds.
New engine mounts and higher spring rates could help this M5 feel even better on the road. The mounts should deliver a firmer connection to the chassis, which in turn should provide better engine response, more immediate transfer of power, and most importantly, better turn-in.
2019 BMW M5 Compettiion
Keen eyes will notice the 2019 M5 Competition's ride height is seven millimeters lower than the standard M5. In addition, it has specific chassis tuning with its own spring and damper rates along with more negative camber dialed in at the front axle, all to help absorb lateral forces. BMW's also fitted the toe links with ball joints instead of rubber mounts.
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While carbon-ceramic brakes are available, a lower-weight iron setup with six-piston fixed front calipers and single-piston floating calipers in the rear provides stopping power.
The exterior of the M5 Competition strips away exterior chrome and replaces it with gloss-black trim. The door handles, mirrors, M gills in front fenders, and tailpipe finishers are finished in black. The Competition gets its own lighter-weight forged 20-inch alloy wheels.
2019 BMW M5 Compettiion
Inside the M5 Competition daubs on an M Competition graphic in the gauge cluster, along with M striped seat belts, and floor mats with model-specific piping and an M5 logo.
Unchanged from the standard M5? Power still shuttles through an 8-speed automatic transmission to all four wheels, though there's still the option of putting the system in rear-wheel-drive mode.
Production of the 2019 M5 Competition will begin in July 2018. The price? A cool $110,995.
