Our Monterey Car Week adventure ended yesterday, but it wasn’t your typical ending. Instead of the usual flight home, BMW of North America handed us the keys – again – to the BMW M5 CS. This is the second row in a week where we get to drive the most coveted BMW of 2021.
Last week we spent some time with the M5 CS in New Jersey for a week-long test drive, coupled with some launch controls and other fun things on a tarmac. And this week, the special and limited M car was also our chariot from Monterey to San Francisco. But before we left the one of the most picturesque places in the world, we had to stop for an ocean photoshoot with the M5 CS.
We parked the car on the famous 17 Mile Drive Road where the Frozen Brands Hatch Grey metallic showed its dual character. Under different light conditions, the matte grey ranges from a light and playful hue to a dark and deep color which enhances the sporty looks of this car.
Furthermore, for CS-duty, the M5 has been beefed up and it looks much meaner than the Competition model. That new carbon fiber hood is as aggressive as it is light, with a large hood bulge, a couple of vents and more creases. It also gets bronze accents on the kidney grilles to match the wheels, carbon fiber aero, a carbon fiber rear lip spoiler and a new and beautifully sculpted diffuser. It even gets killer yellow headlight accents.
Only three colors are available. The standard color is Brands Hatch Grey metallic, with two optional colors; Frozen Brands Hatch Grey and Frozen Deep Green metallic. The interior comes in but one color scheme — black with red accents. If you want gold brake calipers instead of red ones, you can have those at no extra cost.
The steering wheel is entirely Alcantara with a top-mounted stripe, just like the M2 CS’, the seats look absolutely fantastic and the back seat, with just its two racing buckets, is pure hooliganism. The seats even feature Nurburgring imprints in their headrests. In the back of the BMW M5 CS, you’ll notice just two lightweight bucket seats.
Powering the M5 CS is the same 4.4 liter twin-turbocharged V8 as every other M5, except it’s been massaged to make 627 horsepower, up just ten ponies, yet its torque rating of 553 lb-ft remains unchanged. The rest of the powertrain is the same as every other M5; an eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox and xDrive all-wheel drive.
According to BMW, its 0-60 mph time has dropped to 2.9 seconds, versus the 3.1 seconds flat for the M5 Competition. The BMW M5 CS sprints from 0 – 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 3.0 seconds, and from 0 – 200 km/h (124 mph) in 10.4 seconds. Top speed is an electronically governed 305 km/h (189 mph). We will have this week our own video showing the performance figures.
U.S. cars are just arriving in the United States. No word on the final number of units to be produced, nor their allocation by market. MSRP is $142,000 plus $995 Destination.
