With The Unveiling Of The 5-GT

No, it doesn’t say “POS”..! BMW has clearly decided that success in the car wars means being a niche builder (see the X6). With the unveiling of the 5-GT, BMW is trying to offer space, comfort, sportiness and utility without the stigma of a station wagon or minivan. At the same time could this be a shot at the rival Porsche Panamera? Now the question of public acceptance remains. The front half of the car gets high marks, with style cues taken from the CS concept (which has unfortunately been killed by BMW due to the world economy). Consider the look a foreshadow of the upcoming new 5-Series sedan. The rear of the 5-GT will surely be the most controversial aspect of the design, all in the name of “progressive activity”. Despite the large quantity of vitriol flying around the web from some bimmer-philes, we think the car will be accepted into the BMW fold and eventually sell in the quantities expected. Engines and technology should mirror the new 5 as well, with a choice of an inline twin-turbo 6 cylinder or a twin-turbo V8 and a probable diesel alternative.

While DSC intervenes as required to counteract understeer and oversteer, M Dynamic Mode allows greater wheel slip and therefore easy drifting. Owners with a taste for sporty and dynamic driving will appreciate this breadth to the cars’ handling, although DSC will still step in if the car ventures over the limits - unless it is switched off completely. Whichever setting the driver chooses, he or she remains responsible for the car’s stability. Aluminium suspension elements ensure sharper dynamics. The core expertise of BMW M GmbH resides in creating cars that offer impressive steering precision, on-the-limit adjustability, agility and driving feeling, together with unbeatable traction and outstanding directional stability - all without neglecting everyday usability. Here again, low weight and a high level of structural rigidity are essential ingredients in ensuring the cars provide an ultra-dynamic driving experience. In the double-joint spring strut front axle alone, the use of a lightweight aluminium construction for components such as control arms, wheel carriers and axle subframes saves five kilograms over a conventional steel design.

Play-free ball joints and elastomer bearings developed specially for the BMW M3 Sedan and BMW M4 Coupe ensure an optimum and direct transfer of forces both laterally and longitudinally. An aluminium stiffening plate, CFRP front strut brace and additional bolted joints between the axle subframe and the body sills all help to increase the rigidity of the front structure. Also lighter than the construction in the outgoing BMW M3 is the new five- link rear axle. All the control arms and wheel carriers are manufactured using forged aluminium, which reduces the unsprung masses of the wheel-locating components by around three kilograms compared with the previous model generation. The rigid connection between the rear axle subframe and the body - without the use of elastic rubber elements - is borrowed from motor sport and serves to further improve wheel location and therefore directional stability. The development of the tyres for the cars was incorporated from the outset into the construction process for the axles.

For high-performance sports cars like the BMW M3 Sedan and BMW M4 Coupe, in particular, steering feel and precision are the foremost considerations in the development of tyres for the front axle, alongside lateral stability and braking forces. At the rear axle, meanwhile, traction, lateral stability and directional stability take centre stage. For this reason, both cars will leave the factory on low-weight forged wheels with mixed-size tyres. The specially developed forged wheels make a significant contribution to the reduction in the cars’ unsprung masses and, in turn, to the optimisation of dynamic qualities and efficiency. Electric Power Steering with three settings. The electromechanical steering system used in the BMW M3 Sedan and BMW M4 Coupe is a new development from BMW M GmbH. It has been tuned specially to assist the cause of dynamic driving and offers the gifts of direct steering feeling and precise feedback. The integrated Servotronic function electronically adjusts the level of steering assistance according to the car’s speed, providing optimum steering characteristics at all speeds. The steering for the BMW M3 Sedan and BMW M4 Coupe also offers the driver three steering characteristics as standard, which can be selected at the touch of a button.