Celebrating 25 years of M5, BMW reveals today at Nurburgring an one-off BMW M5 CSL. Our german editor Benny is on-site and will report more news in the next few hours.
BMW’s Motorsport division buils a special lightweight version of the current E60 M5. The car is being described by M division’s head of development, Albert Biermann, as “the M5 CSL we never built”.
The almighty 5.0 liter V10 engine has been modified taking its capacity up to 5.5 liters. To accomplish this task, the highly strung, 90-degree unit has been enlarged with a longer stroke.
Official horsepower and torque numbers have yet to be disclosed, but Herr Biermann hints at around 580 horsepower and near 400 lb-ft of torque, a significant increase over the standard M5.
A carbon finer manifold increases capacity of the air box and a secondary oil cooler. The front bumper gets an additional air duct in the place where the license plate is usually situated.
Channelling the added reserves back to the rear wheels is a beefed up version of the M3’s seven-speed double clutch gearbox. The Getrag engineered unit, operated via steering wheel mounted paddles or push/pull gear lever, supplants the standard M5’s sequential seven speed manual unit, offering smoother and more rapid gear shifts.
Since CSL is all about decreasing the overall weight, the BMW M5 CSL receives a carbon fiber roof, reducing the weight by 50 kg.
The interior has been stripped down, rear seats have been removed while two carbon fiber seats replace the front ones.
No official performance numbers have been released yet, but Herr Biermann hints the M5 CSL did the Nurburgring track in under 8 minutes, 20 seconds faster than the regular M5.
Unfortunately for the BMW fans, the M5 CSL remains an exercise and there are no plans for a production car. ‘
P.S. Stay tuned for more exclusive photos and news in the next few hours.
[Source: Autocar ]
Author: Horatiu B.
Source: http://www.bmwblog.com/2009/10/28/bmw-builds-an-m5-csl/