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      10-19-2012, 10:28 PM   #75
///M1
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SCOTT26 View Post
The next Audi RS 6 is an Avant only. The US no longer receives the A6 Avant?
The RS 7 will face off against the M6 Gran Coupe which I am told is mind-blowing in handling and overall composure. I recently drove an A7 and for what it is I found it dynamically flawed compared to the 6er Gran Coupe.

The question was do you want more weight or less weight? and customers wanted less weight so plans for an xDrive M5 were dropped.
Demand is purely driven for rear wheel drive M cars if a customer wants AWD then it will be the BMW X5M and BMW X6M which in most markets with the need for all-wheel drive outsell their RWD bretheren.
Correct, the upcoming RS 6 will be an Avant (the one seen tested on the Ring, and yes, the US currently does not get an A6 nor A4 Avant, short of the A4 allroad), I was referring to the next generation of RS 6, as we were discussing where things are going and what that might mean for the upcoming M5 (6+ yrs from now). In that timeframe, the RS6 based on the then-current A6 platform will be out, and Audi has already confirmed that in such time span the US will already see pretty much the entire RS lineup. For the first time ever in the US we see 2 RS models sold side by side (RS 5 and TT RS, which btw is bumped in power only for the US market, so Audis claims to bring the full RS lineup seems credible).

So I was talking about the horizon when the next M5 is set to dawn upon us. The E63AMG already will be AWD as we see, the RS 6 will be around, and with the M5 likely to be pushing 600 or thereabouts, I really feel the limit of a RWD car with so much power and tq has been reached. Considering how 'important' 0-60mph times are for many North American folk and journalists, launching and hooking up that much power on a RWD platform becomes a monumental task, regardless of how many launch control or other features you aid the car with. It's pure physics. You may be surprised, but I still hear ppl asking the BMW dealers why the Panamera S posts better 0-60 times than the M5 despite being down on power (or the Tesla outdrags it, that's the winner ...)

I am all about weight reduction and a nimble chassis (one of main reasons I got the 1///M), but sadly we may not see this on the 5-series platform which with time is bound to get bigger and even more luxurious. Many journalists have even come out and said the F10 M5 is the best ///M 7-series BMW has ever made. I will be ordering a 'stripper' M5 (with the 20" wheels as they are lighter than the 19s) largely because I am concerned of its weight (and frankly I don't care for soft close doors and tech assistance gadgets that the average ///M driver shouldn't really need IMO). And yet it will come in tipping the scales near 4,400lbs. I wish BMW considers giving a CSL version of sorts for the M5 (as there was such a 'study' in the E60 M5 that never saw daylight). There are a lot of folks here that would compromise many extras in exchange for having a car hitting the scales sub 4,000 lbs.

The HP wars are getting out of hand, and that is mostly a byproduct of the added weight each new platform almost undoubtedly carries. Most I reckon would prefer a 500hp 3,900lb 5-series than a 600hp 4500lb one.

Quote:
Originally Posted by singularity View Post
And how about 2014 E63 AMG 4MATIC? The one with official 0-60 in 3.4 without Performance Package. We could be looking at an epic 3.0 second 0-60 time with Performance Package and and favorable ideal conditions.

If done properly and with all advantages, AWD competition will beat the vague "better handling" hands down. M5 F10 is already at the peak of RWD engineering and any more added power without AWD would have a lot of potential lost.

If next M5 is to succeed, it will have to have xDrive option.
Amen.

And as Porsche has shown, AWD does not always have to be vague.

Quote:
Originally Posted by InspireSiR View Post
With this LCI coming a year earlier in the F10's life, is there a possibility BMW will have another LCI before end of production of the F10?

Assuming the normal 7 year life, there will be 4 more model years for this chassis after this LCI.
No chance for an LCI twice in a car's lifetime, not been in BMW's dictionary, and for a good reason IMO.
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2011 BMW E82 1///M: AW, all options; Renntech, Akrapovic, Forge, P3, RevoZ CF bits, many mods
1988 BMW E30 M3: Hennarot, S14, stock
2018 Porsche 991.2 GT3: PtS, CXX, LWBS, PCCB
1998 Porsche 993 C4S: Zenith Blue, last aircooled widebody, Bilstein PSS10, Fister II + Fabspeed exhaust
2008 Audi B7 RS 4: Sprint Blue, Audi Exclusive Euro Bucket Interior, Premium+Titanium, many mods
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