F90 BMW M5 facelift revealed – revised styling and dynamics; 4.4L twin-turbo V8; up to 625 PS, 750 Nm

Now that the regular G30 BMW 5 Series has gotten its facelift (LCI or Life Cycle Impulse in BMW speak), it is now time for the big daddy M5 to get its update. As before, the quintessential sports sedan comes in regular and Competition flavours, both with new styling and upgraded dynamics.

Like lesser 5 Series variants, the latest M5 gets a conjoined kidney grille that is more upright and drops down further into the front apron. This is flanked by new LED headlamps, which can be upgraded with BMW Laserlight technology, and are accompanied by L-shaped light guides.

For an even more menacing face, customers can specify the BMW Individual lights Shadowline option, which adds a dark-tinted accent to the clusters. Further down, the lower apron has been revised with a hexagonal-shaped centre air intake, while the side air intakes have been made larger and reflect less light to give them an even darker look.

Not a lot has changed down the sides of the car, as you still find side gills and BMW’s trademark M side mirrors. The rear end does receive some changes, as the bumper has been reshaped, and the taillights have been tweaked to showcase a new 3D design and L-shaped graphics. Unchanged are the quad exhaust tailpipes and diffuser element in the lower apron.

On the M5 Competition, several elements like the kidney grille surround, the mesh on the gills, mirror caps, and additional spoiler on the boot lid all carry a gloss black finish to mark it out from a regular M5. Additionally, there are black badges, illuminated door sills and the tailpipes are finished in black chrome.

Still on the exterior, the M5 models now come with five new paint finishes – Brands Hatch Grey and Motegi Red metallic – with Tanzanite Blue II metallic, Aventurine Red II metallic and the matte finish Frozen Bluestone metallic being part of the BMW Individual collection. The previous Champagne Quartz metallic finish is now known as Alvit Grey metallic, and 20-inch M double-spoke light-alloy wheels in polished Orbit Grey from the M8 has been added.

Moving inside, the M5 models now come with BMW Operating System 7.0, which is part of the BMW Live Cockpit Professional package. This sees the fitment of a centre display and digital instrument cluster that both measure 12.3 inches diagonally, which are complemented by a head-up display with two viewing modes.

A less obvious revision is seen on the centre console, as BMW has decided to get rid of the individual buttons that alter the characteristics of the car’s suspension, powertrain and steering. Instead, there is now just two buttons – Setup and M Mode – with the former bringing the driver straight to a menu for programming an individual configuration.

As for the M Mode button, this allows you to quickly swap between the Road and Sport drive modes, or it can be held down to engage Track mode. With plenty of configurability for the ideal setup, the M1 and M2 buttons on the steering wheel are still present to make it easy to switch between “tame and sensible” to “tyre-shredding maniac,” or anything in between.

In terms of dynamics, the M5 models continue to come with adaptive dampers and variable steering, but the M5 Competition takes things up a notch with stiffer engine mounts and a lower ride height of 7 mm (20 mm with M Performance parts) compared to a normal M5. The M5 Competition also benefits from lessons gained from the M8 Gran Coupe by adapting the four-seater’s dampers.

BMW has also added M Carbon ceramic brakes as an option with the facelift, which help to trim 23 kg from the car’s unsprung weight. These are identified by gold calipers, which stand out and perform better when compared to the standard M Compound brakes with cast iron discs and calipers painted in black or red.

If you’re expecting more power from the S63 4.4 litre twin-turbo V8, sorry. The mill still makes 600 PS (591 hp) at 6,000 rpm and 750 Nm of torque from 1,800 to 5,600 rpm in the regular M5, while the M5 Competition pushes out 625 PS (616 hp) and the same amount of torque, the same as before. Both will hit a top speed of 305 km/h with the optional M Driver’s Package (default is 250 km/h), and the zero to 100 km/h time is 3.4 seconds with the M5 or 3.3 seconds with the M5 Competition.

Also unchanged is the eight-speed M Steptronic automatic transmission and M xDrive all-wheel drive system, the latter with an Active M Differential. You still get a choice of 4WD, 4WD Sport and 2WD modes, with the last placing the car in rear-wheel drive mode and disabling the Dynamic Stability Control (DSC).

For those who need even more goodies, an extensive line-up of M Performance parts are available, ranging from a coilover suspension setup for a further drop in ride height of between five and 20 mm, to 20-inch forged wheels and carbon-fibre aero parts. Of course, these options will add on to the car’s base price, which starts at 120,900 euros (RM582,287) for the M5 and 129,900 euros (RM625,780) for the M5 Competition.

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