2021 BMW M5 CS tease confirms power and weight advantage
The holidays may be drawing to a close, but BMW's M performance division has one last surprise ahead of the new year: the first details on the 2021 BMW M5 CS. The latest edition of a "Competition Sport" car, as you'd expect the M5 CS takes the standard sports sedan and cranks out more performance for those who really refuse to compromise.
A full unveil won't take place until January 2021, but BMW M decided to spill a few early details to whet the appetite on its Instagram page. The strategy remains the same as what has worked so well before: nudge up the power, strip away some fo the weight, and add some eye-catching detailing so that everybody else knows you're driving something special.
In the case of the 2021 M5 CS, that means the 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 has been tuned for 635 horsepower around. It's an 18 hp bump over what you get in the 2021 M5 Competition. Torque remains the same, at a healthy 553 lb-ft.
Weight is down by 154 pounds, with BMW M making liberal use of carbon fiber to trim away some of the M5's heft. There'll be striking gold wheels, with carbon-ceramic brakes flashing eye-catching red calipers. Matching gold trim will feature on the side badges and grille.
Speaking of that grille, unlike other recent – and controversial – BMW models, it looks like the M5 CS will be keeping a more restrained snout. Whereas the new 4 Series has been dividing opinion with its huge pair of nostrils, the 2021 M5 CS has a more shapely fascia. On the regular M5 that looks positively conservative, compared to some of BMW's other recent designs. For the M5 CS the headlamps will be a motorsport-inspired yellow.
Inside, figure on BMW's usual high-tech cabin – shown above – along with carbon-fiber bucket seats borrowed from the 2021 M3 and M4. It'll be a four seater setup in there, too, and we can expect things like the drive mode shortcut keys on the steering wheel for more rapid access to punchier settings when the roads get interesting.
Unlikely to have been changed much is the M5's rear-wheel biased all-wheel drive system, which can be coaxed into sideways action if you switch into the drift mode. That's normally paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission.
All in all, this will be the most powerful M5 in BMW's history, the automaker promises. Big numbers and a potent powertrain should make things extra-special, and likely with a price tag to match. We'll find out more come January, with US availability of the 2021 M5 CS expected later next year.