The beauty of this high-compression motor is there is sufficient displacement and optimal engine geometry to provide torque at any speed. Maximum torque of 383.5 lb-ft is reached at 6100 rpm, but falls sharply instead of rolling off. Keep feeding the throttle and the car will continue to push you back into the seat with seemingly endless rewarding thrust. There was always more speed to be had but, instinctively, I always backed off well before the rev limit because I've never heard a deep throaty engine maintain its growl past 6000 rpm.
Gear selection seemed to be moot as the engine responded at any speed. It easily hung out and cruised happily at 4000 rpm without ever sounding strained. The point of this engine is driving pleasure. Others may be faster, but none-so far-even come close to being as rewarding. Imagine putting together all of the best a Chevy small-block and a Honda S2000 engine have to offer and you'll have the S85.
It used to be that your feet had all the fun performing the pedal ballet. Though the fancy footwork will be missed by many, the F1-style (right side up, left side down) SMG paddle shifter has moved all the action to your fingertips. All things considered, this was the smarter choice, considering the amount of power the driver is required to handle.
Truth be told, the decision to use the SMG opened up myriad possibilities for increasing the driving experience. Eliminating the clutch pedal allowed engineers to add another gear for even more race-car feel and it allowed them to use a dual-plate clutch, which-for the most part-would be too uncomfortable for manual-gearbox use on the street.
From its introduction, BMW's SMG was always great at downshifts. It was the upshift and timing that were the issues. Since there was no room for an only-tolerable system on BMW's new performance flagship, something had to change. With the first bump of the paddle, I knew M had finally gotten it right. The new gearbox is 20% faster, has one more gear and is a hell of a lot smarter.
The third-generation SMG not only set all my doubts to rest, it never ceased to surprise me with its dynamic adaptation to differing driving styles and road conditions. Faster hydraulic circuits and shorter gear spacing eliminates the hesitation of upshifts in any mode and the engagement of the twin-disk clutch, whether snappy or eased in, is jerk free.I've yet to ride in a smoother shifting car outfitted with a dual-plate clutch. Shift engagement in either automatic or sequential mode is throttle dependent. The transmission knows if you mean to bang into the next gear or just slowly change up, easing into a cruising mode.
Previous generation SMGs-which were just standard manual transmissions fitted with computer-controlled hydraulics-were known for their odd shift timing. Thankfully, that problem is solved in this SMG. Rev-matched downshifts are not as jerky, and though not slower, feel more natural. Closer gear spacing on the seven-speed allows clutch engagement to occur as the revs are dropping after the blip. This method maintains the decreasing momentum of the drivetrain with the engine.
On deceleration, the SMG downshifts to keep the engine at the right speed should the need arise for an immediate throttle response. Gear selection also seemed to be tied to cornering conditions. The more aggressive my driving style, the more apt the SMG was at keeping the revs up.
Much to my chagrin, I found it more fulfilling to drive in automatic rather than sequential mode as the transmission shifted and responded so perfectly. Racing around the winding roads at the base of the Alps, the system was choosing gears and timing shifts far better than I did. Shifts (either up or down) never happened in the middle of a corner, unbalancing the weight transfer at a critical moment. And with a 8025-rpm ceiling, pegging a rev limiter was never an issue.
It goes without saying that this car handles wonderfully. In cornering, the M5 made no attempt to hide its heft or size. Unlike the active-steering-equipped 5 Series-which made the car feel deceptively nimble-the M5 powers through corners with fantastic grace and grip. Although the suspension architecture is derived from the standard 5 Series, precise tuning of spring rates, bushings and the use of the EDC, totally separates the M5 from its origins. It's definitely not a sports car, but for what it is, it does a superb job.
Braking is similarly augmented with 374mm diameter rotors in front and 370mm in the back. (You do the math, 25.4mm to an inch.) BMW decided to use a floating-caliper design to prolong brake life, minimize caliper deflection and reduce uneven rotor and pad wear. Have no worries, this product stops as well as it goes. Even gut-wrenching stops from 270 kph (168 mph) were not enough to activate the ABS.Just writing this makes me crave to be back in the seat with all seven close-ratio gears at my fingertips and 507 bhp at my command. Unfortunately, for all of us it might be a whole year before we receive U.S. delivery. At least we know that M GmbH has plans to make many more E60 M5s than it made of the E39.
So fear not, the larger production run and earlier introduction in the E60 product cycle means the there should be plenty to go around. Digging up the expected 80-grand plus I leave up to you and your financial advisors. I suggest selling the children.