All-New, All-Wheel-Drive 2018 BMW M5: It’s Finally Here!

Desire, thy name is F90.

After months on months of waiting, BMW has finally unveiled the next M5 ahead of its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Following recent tradition, the new M5 shares a platform with the G30 5 Series but gets its own chassis code, F90.

The F90 M5 will be powered by a twin-turbocharged 4.4 liter V8 – M TwinPower Turbo in BMW nomenclature – producing a whopping 600 horsepower. That will be fed through a BMW-first M xDrive all-wheel-drive system designed for high performance and prodigious grip.

The move to all-wheel-drive has been generally regarded as a necessary evil at best, controversial at worst. To many BMW fans, the M5, the prototype for sport sedans, should always be rear wheel drive.

But F90 M5 owners won’t have to choose, they’re getting the best of both worlds. BMW wanted to make M xDrive the “most emotionally engaging all-wheel-drive system” available. If that means driving around with the front axle completely disengaged to you, that’s an optional setting.

Naturally, there are concerns about additional weight, but the new M5 is actually lighter than the outgoing model.  At 4,089 pounds, its almost 200 pounds lighter than the F10 M5.

More power, more grip, and less weight translate to seriously impressive performance figures. Zero to sixty happens in just 3.4 seconds, with an unrestricted top speed of 189 miles per hour. Just remember to check the M Driver’s Package box if you plan on going that fast.

BMW starts taking orders next month for the M5 First Edition. This features Frozen Red matte-finish paint, blacked-out exterior trim, 20″ wheels (lighter than the standard units), piano black interior trim, and a numbered dash plaque.

Cameron Vanderhorst

Cam VanDerHorst has been a contributor to Internet Brands' Auto Group sites for over three years, with his byline appearing on Ford Truck Enthusiasts, Corvette Forum, JK Forum, and Harley-Davidson Forums, among others. In that time, he's also contributed to Autoweek, The Drive, and Scale Auto Magazine.
He bought his first car at age 14 -- a 1978 Ford Mustang II -- and since then he’s amassed an impressive and diverse collection of cars, trucks, and motorcycles, including a 1996 Ford Mustang SVT Mystic Cobra (#683) and a classic air-cooled Porsche 911.
In addition to writing about cars and wrenching on them in his spare time, he enjoys playing music (drums and ukulele), building model cars, and tending to his chickens.
You can follow Cam, his cars, his bikes, and his chickens at @camvanderhorst on Instagram.
When he's not busy working on his Harley-Davidson bike, the vastly experienced writer has covered an array of features, reviews, how-tos, op-eds and news stories for Internet Brands' Auto Group and is also a co-founder and co-host of the popular podcast Cammed & Tubbed.

Check him out on Instagram at: Camvanderhorst.

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