Article content When the original BMW M5 surfaced, it was the answer to a question no one had asked, but what an answer it turned out to be — there had never been a proper sports sedan before. It was the M5 that started the practice of putting racing technology into a road-going car. The concept first surfaced when the then-CEO’s security detail, driving a 5 Series , could not keep up with his 7 Series , so they turned to the motorsport division for help.
The solution was to install the engine from the 3.0 CSL, modify the suspension and beef up the brakes. The M5, as we now know it today, was born.
Today, we tend to take a lot of things for granted. In just about any modern car, the brakes brake and the steering steers; pre-M5 it was more a case of brakes that slowed and steering that guided. Almost 40 years after its launch, the original E28 M5 still has it going on.
When launched it had power, a keen steering setup with some real feedback and the brakes needed to deal with the elevated speeds. Driving one of these beauties proved it’s still up to the challenge of a rapid run through the Alps! Now comes the latest BMW M5. As it has been with each previous generation, the latest takes big steps forward.
As usual, it has more power and the handling is even more tenacious, but this time around it’s also greener — it shifts from gasoline to plug-in hybrid (PHEV). It was a surreal experience romping around the 4.255-km Salzburgring racetrack, outside Salzburg, in a camo.