Bucket Seat: BMW M5 Competition - First Impressions

BMW SA launched its all new M5 in the country about a month ago, the much anticipated super saloon was everything and more than what people expected. Being the first M5 with four wheel drive, it sure did astound many journo's and one would have thought this would be the pinnacle of the super German sedan but in true German fashion, they pulled a trump out, with the new BMW M5 Competition which was relieved earlier today. So whats the deal? Well obviously its more powerful, although it shares its 4.4L M TwinPower Turbo V8 with the standard M5, it has an extra 25bhp power more taking it up to 625bhp and producing 460kW allowing for high revving in longer periods. Which catapults the car from 0-200 in just 10.8 seconds, which is 0.3 seconds quicker than the standard BMW M5. The engine also has specially designed mounts to optimise responsiveness and cornering characteristics. 

Now many might be thinking, why would BMW release the Competition so soon after the standard M5 was launched? Well I'm sure there were many deciding factors to this, with rivals showing their cards with their new models, which on paper look to perform better than the standard M5, Germans being Germans cannot have this so they must have decided to through this one out a bit earlier than anticipated, but thats just my take on it. Don't treat it as gospel, also another key factor would be pricing, while we don't know at what price the Competition will come in at when it arrives in the country in the third quarter of this year, it will be a few pennies more than the standard one. So for some, maybe the bank will only grant them finance on the standard version as apposed to the Competition. 

So, if you had the money, why would you chose the Competition over the standard version? Apart from the performances differences, their are elements to the car that sets it apart from the other. The Competition is offered in BMW Individual paint options, high gloss black kidney grille and mirror caps, exclusive 20" forged lightweight alloy wheels, a blacked out "M5 Competition" badge, sports exhaust system with black tail pipes, BMW look at the Competition product as a new category which in the future will offer the most powerful variants of its high-performance cars as standalone models, we've already seen this in the M2, M3 and M4 Competition. Overall, the BMW M5 Competition takes the standard BMW to the next level in terms of performance, while still having the aesthetics of a modern four door saloon. While figures might be close or less than its direct competitors, we will have to see how it performs to make a final judgement on the car.