BoBcanada

Rowdy Audi

500hp, 3.9sec 0-60, 6 speed tranny...

Turbo2

No matter how much power it has....it's still UGLY.

stephens

The article is complete speculation and is actually at odds with other fairly reliable sources of leaked info. Talk is it is dos not have direct injection. The current model is 100lbs lighter than the old, so given that BMW can use the same drivetrain as the current M5 without beefing it up and keep the weight of the V10 the same as the V8, it is still going to weigh 3900lbs, not 3700 as guessed at in the article.
IMO the car will probably weigh about the same as the W211 E55, have slighly more horsepower, significantly less torque, a manual transmission and sharper handling.
Pretty much the same equation as the W210 E55 Vs E39 M5.

Unless of course you add a power upgrade kit to the E55, which bumps the power to 560+hp.......

If the E60 actually does have 100hp/litre will produce very small gains, as it will already be tuned to within an inch of its life, much like the M3.

amg55

The 0-60 = 3.9 sec makes no sense at all.
That's nearly a full 1.0 sec improvement over the outgoing M5, and given the known incremental increase in hp and likely weight of the E60, it simply doesn't add up.

That "<est.>" in the article should be asterisked with the footnote, "We were just trying to get your attention. Thanks for playing along"

Harris

Couldnt agree more! The front is a IS300, the rear is a Hyundai. Along with the 7 series, those are the two most ugliest car in the planet.

vraa

Are you sure you aren't confusing it with the C32? Just Playin!

This will be pretty bad thing for BMW in my eyes if they leave little room for tuning. How else do we get torque?

mikE55

No worries my friends, the E55 will leap frog it again with 600 hp by then.

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...threadid=43230

600 hp & 700 hp AMGs are on their way.

mbprince

I heard some one close to MB mention the word E65 a few days ago!! Wonder what he meant??

JasonC32amg

The car is going to be interesting no doubt... But I'll still be looking to upgrade my c32k to an e55k. As far as power goes, the last time I was at Renntech Hartmut told me about an s55k that ripped a 11.9 or so with his kit. I think an e55 so equipped will be plenty fast

bimmerlover

a naturally aspirated v10 is going to be sick.

and from what i hear its going to be around 550 hp.

the handling is going to be better than the current m5, which is already the pinnacle of sports sedan handling. plus a MAUAL. i like the power of amg line but the M5 will always be king....now if were talking sl65 then thats a whole nother story

KWiK

Poursha

At some point more power is meaningless. I think I can live with my '03 E55's power .

Will the new M5 handle better than the E55? If history is any indicator, I'd say it will probably have marginally better handling--but unless you plan to track your car, you'll likely never notice it.

Then there's styling. I think the exterior and interior of the new E55 is absolutely beautiful. Although I owned a '00 740i sport, and have always like the styling of BMWs, the latest wave of models that have been bangelized made my decision to buy a E55 instead of waiting for the new M5 very easy. Style is a very subjective and personal thing, but there's no way you'd see me driving around in one of those bangelized cars, regardless of power or handling.

Kain

And don't forget the new Audi RS 6 that will be here in about 2 years.

By the way, when will the Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG update occur?

mikE55

Kain - The power update according to CAR magazine is slated for '06 with the 6.3L V8 600hp E-class AMG. That article might be speculation, but then so is the one posted in this thread about the M5.

It ain't the king no more, the e39 is dead, long live the E55 AMG. It maybe the once and future king again (e60). But if it retakes the crown, this time the emperor has no clothes.

BEn xD

Any car can be made to go fast--in a straight line. All the E55 has is straight line acceleration. Try tracking the E55 and I'll be willing to bet on how much you'll rant about the handling. At BMW M5 try doing a search on the user "lonman." He's owned an M5, TWO SL55's, and a GT2. Read what he has to say. If the next M5 is anywhere close to the current but out of production M5, I'll be willing to bet my M3 that it'll eat your slushboxes like a fat kid eats cake.

kaneman

Wow, so did you rice that thing out all on your own or did you buy it from the dealer that way as some kinda 'appearance package'?

No, seriously... outgoing M5 blew away the W210 E55 in handling. The W211 E55 ups the ante in a BIG way, matching (I feel) the E39 in driving enjoyment. It damn well should, it only took MB SEVEN YEARS to catch up. But, they have surpassed BMW's best at this time. Now, the E60 will come out and we'll see what happens.

Mitigating factors are the g-dawful styling that may grow on me in time and the horrid iDrive and interior layout. The W211 is natural, it flows and puts everything at hand where the driver expects it. The E60 IMO is a backwards move for BMW as was the new 745 in terms of making it about the driver. Too many electronic geegaws and distractions with needless complications.

Rest assured both BMW and MB will be one-upping each other in the horsepower wars for years to come and the crown will trade hands several times. As far as which car is the best, that's subjective... every owner makes their choice based on different criteria. I think it's a safe bet to say that the new M5 will outdo the E55 with respect to chassis dynamics and quality of handling. But the new E55 is much much more fleet on it's feet than the old, and the mark is that much higher now. Thus, the M5 will no longer be such a no-brainer vs. the E55. It all depends on the personal tradeoffs one wants to make. For me, I never track my car and don't get to 10/10ths anyway. I want something fast, powerful, yet still comfortable and very luxurious that can handle should I want to bash a few apexes. That's the E55 in a nutshell.

blando

Well put kaneman.

mikE55

kaneman - everyone has their opinion, but I don't entirely agree with yours. One of the reasons I haven't rushed out to buy the new E55 is that I'm not convinced its handling is a real step foward. It's horsepower is without a doubt. The new E55 has actually performed worse than the old one in skidpad results and brake tests. Even stephens admits his new E55 lacks the road feel of his old one, and seems to be going through great lengths to modify his suspension setup. When I drove the new E500, to me, it lacked the raw muscular excitement of the old E55.

I see you've owned an M5 and an '02 E55, so you've got your opinion. I've owned an M3 and a BMW 540, and IMO the w210 E55 felt better than the 540 and quite close to the e39 M5 in handling. To quote the Mar. 2000 Road&Track "The E55 is a real surprise on the race track. Its automatic transmission is ready to adapt to driver needs, and its chassis is more balanced, exhibiting less understeer than the M5." Sam Mitani (R&T editor) had more fun in the E55, and it was his personal pick. That of course, was just his opinion.

In real world driving, IMO the e39 M5 and w210 E55 were not that far apart. But I'm still not so sure about the w211 E55, it's pretty heavy at 4200 lbs vs. 3700 lbs for the old one. Even though the 211 is suppose to have a better chassis, weight is still an issue. For me, a lighter car is more fun, more nimble.

But I'm not here to pick a fight. Each generation of E55 and M5 has been great in their own right. I think we all agree that the new M5's styling is its main issue.

stephens

Fact: My W211 E55 will EAT your M3 in a straight line or around a racetrack. A Porsche Cayenne Turbo is actually faster than the M3 around a track, the W211 E55 is significantly faster again. Another piece of fact, the W210 E55 is as quick around a racetrack as the M5, but slightly slower in acceleration.
Where do I get my info?
1. Personal observation and testing at Phillip Island race way.
2. Credible European magazine track tests which are also available online.
3. My last comment on the Porsche Cayenne Vs M3 was from the latest issue of EVO.

Check your facts before you spin ****.

p.s. The E55 is only 35kg heavier than the M5 - 1795kg vs 1835kg. I do not know where some of the US car mags got there weight data from as they appear to quote 4200+lbs (1900+kgs).
It really gets up my nose when people confuse opinion with facts.

kaneman

Nice to know I'm not their only foreign subscriber... I think they're the best car magazine in the world... I love their take on things. CAR South Africa is refreshing as well for the more utilitarian view they take... a bit like Popular Mechancs meets CAR magazine.

MIKe55, it's like I said... it's all about personal preference. I had a 540i sport 6 speed as well and liked it, but it wasn't all the M5 was. Perhaps I never pushed it hard enough but the W210 E55 was just never that confidence inspiring to me. It always felt vague, as though it was never quite sure exactly what it was doing. My CLK55 felt much the same way. In contrast, the W211 E500 feels much more surefooted, I can only imagine what the E55 will be like. I can't say whether it's changing tastes or just my preference in cars but my favorite handling cars thus far have been my '97 E36 M3 and my current C32.

Bilal

Dude, nice M3, but you just got OWNED!

stephens

mikE55
I couldn't agree more with your comments. The W210 E55, E39 M5 was down to personal prefs only. The old E55 is a much underated vehicle and a test drive from a friend is why I bought my first Benz.
In case anyone thinks I am a one eyed MB man, I just sold our SLK and replaced it with a sports pack 330ci convertible, which is a much nicer car IMO. Prior to the E55 it was Porsche and BMW's only.

Kain

By the way, the new Audi S4 beat the BMW M3 on the track even though it lost in a straight line.

It was a Top Gear video.

HarvE55

Ben,

I can see from the 5 posts you've made that your new to this Board. I have owned several BMW' s including my current 540i and a previous M6. I also ordered a 2003 E55 (now a 2004 E55) and a new M6. Yesterday, I drove a 2003 E55 that was on a local MB Dealer lot. The overall package for this car is outstanding. While I am curious to see what BMW brings when the M5/M6 make their debut, they will be so MISBANGLED that their total package (Styling, comfort ride, speed, etc.) won't be as complete. As indicated by how you customized you M3, I can see that appearance is less important and therefore the new M's may have the styling you require. As of today however, a stock M3 or M5 would be great if you want to arrive second. This will change again, again, and again as each succesive new model is brought out. BMW needs to keep its classic styling and put the lastest technology into them versus making their new cars look like GD Pontiacs.