2011 m5

[E-Thirty]

2011 BMW M5 isn't quite ready for showrooms yet, but our spies have recently spotted the grandaddy sport sedan out testing, this time in the hands of the Pirelli folks (hence the different wheel and tire packages).

We're really growing quite fond of the M5's shape in the F10 5 Series body, and we're sure that the rumored 578-horsepower, twin-turbo V8 under the hood will put smiles on our faces as well. BMW has yet to confirm when we'll actually see the production-ready M5, but we'll eat our hats if the supersedan doesn't make an appearance at this year's Paris Motor Show. In the meantime, all we can do is lust, and you can do the same by clicking through our gallery of high-res shots below.

Autoblog

What do you guys think? Personally, I like the direction BMW is going with as far as design.

[Mde36]

looks like the current 3 series i like it though, it's grown on me

[Unearth078]

looking at it, the only word that comes to mind is bloated.

[e30s50dan]

yea... looks heaaavvvy!

[Unearth078]

yea... looks heaaavvvy!

like a mini version of a mini van with a trunk.

[Elysian]

I'm really glad they changed the terrible headlights of the current 5...

[E-Thirty]

It does look quite bulky, but in a 5 series, that's not something I'm really concerned about. :p

[bimma360]

Heavy or not i think it looks fantastic!

Dave

[CleanAzzE30z]

Much better than the last generation of Bimmers. Im so glad they let that flame-surfacing shit go. Yes, it revolutionized car design, but it was nasty. Now if they could only bring the waistline down so all cars didnt look do bulky/heavy!! Shit the e38 was a heavy car but it looked fucking sleak and trim.

[bimma360]

Much better than the last generation of Bimmers. Im so glad they let that flame-surfacing shit go. Yes, it revolutionized car design, but it was nasty. Now if they could only bring the waistline down so all cars didnt look do bulky/heavy!! Shit the e38 was a heavy car but it looked fucking sleak and trim.

Good point.

[ck_taft325is]

I enjoy it.

Totally agree, CleanAzze30z! The issue comes about from England IIRC... they were attempting to make it "safer" for a pedestrian in the event of a car hitting them. Thus the higher waiste line so the hood can be a full 4+" taller than the top of the engine. Supposedly this helps a pedestrian not smack his head on the block via close hood to engine ratios. Somehow they've determined this is the leading cause of fatal pedestrian vs. car incidents.

I figured it was the human vs. car weight ratio's that caused death when you nailed a poor or stupid pedestrian. Silly me ;)

[E30Nova]

You guys think that looks bloated? Have you not seen the E60? I do like the E60, but that thing makes this look like an anorexic ethiopian kid.

Matt

[CleanAzzE30z]

Oh yeah. EU regulations for pedestrian safety.


Mariano

[lga714]

Honestly, I couldn't stand the E60 when it came out. It grew on me a lot over the years and now that it's going I feel like it was the most beautiful sedan of the decade . Especially the 550i and the M5.

The thing I cant stand about the new 5 series is the hood, way too many lines on that. The rest of the car is good, I just don't like how BMW is now doing the one sausage, different lengths thing. The previous models all looked different from each other and I loved that idea. I guess they just want to be safe and design something a little more bland.

[MikeK]

looks like an Orca


i dig.