When it comes to providing Herculean performance in a Walter Mitty-esque package, BMW has the formula down pat. Once again, for the 2014 model year, BMW has taken the outstanding and transformed it into absolutely stupefying with the M5 Competition Package. Elevating the already astounding road manners of the M5 into the realm of the positively unbelievable, the 2014 BMW M5 Competition Package extracts more grunt, more grip, and more grins from the venerable model.
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Over the years, a variety of engine configurations have been applied to the M5 solution. These have included normally–aspirated V8s, V10s, and inline six-cylinder engines. For 2014, the BMW M5 is running a twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 engine capable of producing 560 horsepower and 502 ft-lbs of torque-in its basic configuration. The competition package’s freer-flowing exhaust system extracts an additional 15 horsepower from the engine, for a grand total of 575. Peak horsepower is achieved at 6,000 rpm, while peak torque is available to the driver from 1,500 rpm to 5,750 rpm with the competition package.
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Power transmission is handled by the buyer’s choice of a seven-speed dual-clutch semi-automatic transmission or a traditional six-speed manual transmission. The dual-clutch transmission offers a choice of three shift programs in both automatic and manual modes, so it can be set up to facilitate day-to-day puttering around town, maximize fuel-economy, or out-and-out aggression. Further, a launch control program is fitted to enable the driver to easily extract the maximum acceleration potential in a repeatable fashion.
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The good news is, once you do find the perfect combination (or combinations), the car allows you to store them for recall at the touch of a button. Further, BMW offers a choice of pre-programmed settings as well. Like a professional model DSLR, you can operate the car in a fully custom configured manual mode, or you can take advantage of the pre-programmed settings. One of the benefits of that broad
Many have decried BMW over the years for the extremely business-like atmosphere of its car’s interiors. To our eye, the lack of the superfluous is a benefit rather than a detriment. Behind the wheel of the M5, everything you survey has a purpose, nothing is there simply because the designers thought it’d look good. What’s more, the setup totally caters to the driver. The subtle canting of the center stack toward the steering wheel telegraphs this quite politely, and yet
In other words, this is a driver’s car, which just so happens to seat three other people. With that said, we would feel remiss if we didn’t apprise you of the downside to all of this brilliance. The 2014 BMW M5 Competition Package equipped car is so good at going fast, the visceral response one gets from speed in lesser cars only occurs at significantly elevated velocities in the M5. While one glance at the instruments will let you know you’re doing something absolutely amazing, very little about the car’s demeanor will tell you so. This is a car you must drive. Whatever you do, don’t let it drive you.
The Competition Package adds $6,500 to the 2014 M5’s base price of $101,500, plus $985 for freight.
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