Autocar Reviews M5 Prototype With All-Wheel Drive
Reviewer from Autocar teams up with German touring-car driver to put BMW’s first AWD M5 through its paces.
BMW has always made it their business to define what performance in a sedan package really can be. The 2002, the company’s spiritual mascot, has been called the world’s first sports sedan. With early iterations of the M5, BMW is said to have invented the super sedan. This machine is capable of laying down performance numbers that rival aggressive two-door sports cars, but with the poise and comfort of a highway cruiser.
Autocar Reviews M5 Prototype With All-Wheel Drive" width="1271" height="619" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/5series.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screenshot_169.jpg?w=1271&ssl=1 1271w, https://i0.wp.com/5series.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screenshot_169.jpg?resize=300%2C146&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/5series.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screenshot_169.jpg?resize=768%2C374&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/5series.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screenshot_169.jpg?resize=1024%2C499&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/5series.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screenshot_169.jpg?resize=640%2C312&ssl=1 640w" sizes="(max-width: 925px) 100vw, 925px" />The M5 is now in its sixth generation of production and is on the verge of a significant transformation for such a storied M car. That is, this new take on the Bavarian land beast will feature all-wheel drive, a first-ever for an M car, and a challenge to purists who hold that anything sporting an M badge must always and forever be motivated from the back and only the back.
Timo Glock explains
As car critics go, former German touring-car aces such as Timo Glock tend to know their stuff. In their review of the just-released prototype M5, Autocar’s Matt Saunders joins Glock in France to ask whether the transition to all-wheel-drive is an ill-planned act of blasphemy or a forward-thinking step in the right direction.
With 615 horsepower and a currently undisclosed (but unquestionably healthy) torque number underfoot, Saunders makes it clear none of the playfulness that made past generations of this car has been filtered out by the added traction. To demonstrate, he easily coaxes the Fiver into multiple controlled slides with Glock commenting on the way that BMW’s XDrive system shifts power from rear to front as the car’s angle of attack changes.
Chime in with your thoughts on the forum!
Saunders and Glock seem convinced the new technology is indeed a positive change. However, don’t worry, purists: There’s still a button you can use to lock the car in rear-drive mode. Let’s hope BMW labels that button appropriately. Our suggestion is “fun.”
