The ‘ultimate’ M5 is no longer the Competition.

TWENTY for the neighbour … how many in ‘our’ driveway?

‘Come back tomorrow.’

That’s the response from BMW New Zealand’s public relations people when asked about the national allocation of the most powerful and fastest accelerating car the German make’s specialist M performance house claims it has ever produced.

The local distributor appears caught on the hop in respect to the M5 CS … an intention to wait until tomorrow (January 28) to deliver the lowdown on the car puts it a day behind the rest of the world.

The model’s global announcement this morning was quickly followed by key markets, Australia including, confirming they will enjoy the new model which, though not a limited count car, is subject to a limited build run, in that it will be available for one model year. 

It’s clear right-hand-drive markets are in line for the car, as Australia is taking 20, these arriving mid-year.

New Zealand’s allocation will likely be fair more modest – somewhere between one and nine would seem a safe bet. Price? Also a guesstimate. Australians are paying the equivalent of $327,000.

The car’s potential collectability status is high: You’re buying into a similar formula to that set out by previous CS-badged BMWs (M2 CS, M3 CS and M4 CS) and the next step up from the M5 Competition, but with many upgrades, including the most powerful engine in the history of BMW M, to create a sharper, more track-focused package.

Specific features are a reprogrammed four-wheel drive system, bespoke chassis tuning and a series of lightweight carbonfibre parts that contribute to a 70kg weight reduction over the M5 Competition.

Anyone buying in will likely stick in straight into the pool room, though let’s hope they might follow the brand’s recommendation and divert en route to a motor racing circuit.

The familiar 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 has been worked over to output 467kW, with torque rated at 750Nm.

The power is well above that from the standard M5’s 412kW/680Nm, but it’s just a 7kW gain and the same torque loading as that offered by the M5 Competition.

BMW nonetheless attests the car will run to 100kmh from a standing start in three seconds – so, a tenth quicker than the Competition – knock out 0-200kmh in 10.4s and achieve an electronically limited top speed of 306kmh.

So, maybe not a race track but a very long runway if you want to have a chance of seeing the latter.

The revised M5 CS engine also gains a redesigned oil pan with an additional sump and indirect charge air cooling. Further changes are focused on the engine mounts, which has a spring rating of 900N per millimetre for a more rigid mounting and a smoother transmission of power to each wheel, according to BMW’s performance division. 

The M5 CS’s chassis is described as being based on that of the M5 Competition but with shock absorbers originally developed for another heavy hitter, the M8 Gran Coupe Competition, that reduce the ride height by 7mm.

The new dampers are claimed to reduce the fluctuation in wheel loads. In combination with new spring bearings for the damper control measures front and rear, as well as standard-fit 20 inch wheels shod with 275/35 front and 285/35 rear Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres, they are claimed to greatly improve on-the-limit handling.

The increase in performance has resulted in M carbon-ceramic brakes being fitted as standard. They use six-piston fixed calipers at the front and single-piston floating calipers at the rear and are claimed to weigh 23kg less overall than the steel disc system that comes as standard on the M5 Competition.

Additional weight savings for the M5 CS have been achieved through the adoption of a carbonfibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) bonnet. The car also uses carbonfibre for the front splitter, mirror caps, rear spoiler and diffuser.

A gold bronze grille and headlights tinged with yellow are also CS specific and the interior also has specific fitouts, notably the rear bench seat being dumped for two individual chairs. The outline of the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit is displayed on the head restraints. On the front seats, the restraints also have illuminated M5 logos.