deaguero

Theres another Roundel surprise coming with the new E60 M5.
It's called the "P" button or Power button. A driver of the new E60 M5 will have access to two modes iwith this new power button. One mode will have 400 horsepower for lollygagging around town and the other mode will have 507 Horsepower when they encounter an AMG vehicle. These Corporate clowns are either getting carried carried away with all this gimmickry or they do not trust the longevity of this high revving low torque motor so they are just trying to preserve the thing. check out this thread: http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=43502

VelocitE55

Do you believe this Bullsh*t? The 0-60 time I can believe, but the rest is BS in its purest form, I couldnt help laughing when I read it. Theres no way the new M5 could possibly reach its limiter in 14.9 seconds, not even close! What do you guys think of that crap?

Quote-"In P500 BMW says the new car will hit 60 mph in 4.7 seconds and its 155 mph top speed in 14.9 sec."

akbro93704

what do i think of that crap?that it's crap lol...the E55 can reach 150 MPH in around 20 seconds, 14.7 is impossible lol

reggid

Its an obvious misprint/misquote, i believe its 0-62MPH (100km/h) in 4.7 sec 0-124MPH (200km/h) in 14.4sec.

Belmondo

why 0-124mph???

430

I love the idea of the power button. I wish I could hit a button and reduce output to 100hp or so. It would be perfect for those times you have to let the valet take your car.

Brav

Uh, 200kph?

Belmondo

i still dont get how do you loose 100h on normally aspirated motor? Is there any other way other than cutting high RPM's? Would that be like "LIMP" mode on the Benz?

Belmondo

Ok its the Euro thing than.

xraymd

So this function is an actual button and not on the IDrive? I thought they were trying to eliminate buttons and now they've added one that doesn't make sense.

But it would be a good excuse when an M5 gets dusted by an E55 on the street. "I could have won, but I forgot to push my power button."

AMG FANATIC

LOL, that's why they probably put it there.

760list

Yeah...I got a power button on my 760li ACS...it's called my right foot to the floor! I don't know what BMW is trying to do...other then for some 507hp on a rear wheel drive car my be a bit much.

Sunny55

This power button sounds lame. Why would you buy a 507 hp car that you can only use 400hp consistently and on a daily basis and use the extra 107 when you have the desire to? In a way it is kind of cool to have a button like that, but it essentially acts as forced induction or NOS. I bought the e55 cuz i wanted the ~469-493hp and 516lb tq on tap, all the time.

I respect M cars and think their engines are masterpieces, definitely works of art, but maybe bmw doesn't want you to use all of the 507hp all the time. When i had the m3, my bmw dealership warned me not to use the launch control of my 02 m3 too many times cuz they said it may burn the clutch and if the car logs more than a certain number of launches they could void my warranty.

What do you guys think? MAybe if you use the p500 button all the time, it would create problems for teh engine?

moa4r

the power button is a great idea IMO...BMW has used the "sport" button in the 2001+ M3s since they came out and it works great. the car is easier to drive in traffic, etc. w/o it, but it becomes a beast when you engage the sport button. (its done by changing the settings of the fuel delivery system) I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. The M5 is sure to be an amazing car, let's not hate here....

Kar don

the M3 has a sport button on the SMG. It just makes the throttle like 10x more sensitive... to make it feel faster.

xraymd

No hating here. Look, the clutch for the supercharger is electrically controlled so that the SC can be disengaged when not needed. Stomp on the gas and click (or chirp) and there it is. This raises two questions. One, why wouldn't the M5 just move into "power mode" when you stomped on the gas? Two, in theory the E55 could have a power button that would prevent the the supercharger from engaging. If it did, wouldn't you think that was stupid? Especially if you had to "turn it on" with every start up.

moa4r

you answered your own questions...the M5 won't be supercharged

xraymd

No, you missed my point. We know the M5 won't be supercharged. What I'm saying is you could have something similar to the power button on the E55. The button would disable the supercharger and presto, you have 349hp just like a W210. But follow me here, I think this is a dumb idea. It's even more idiotic if I have to engage the button with every startup. The only good reason I've heard on this board to have this mysterious button is to temporarily slow your vehicle down when you give it to a valet. Of course this wouldn't work on the M5 because the button is right there in plain sight.

xraymd

Actually I too missed one of my points. Instead of pushing this button, why not have the vehicle kick into high performance mode when I mash the gas? Do you always know when you're going to need full power? Heck no. And with the E55, it's always there.

AMG FANATIC

LOL, I have the same button in my car. :p

AMG Jerry

Guys,
On the M3 and other previous M cars with the sport button, the button controls how sensitive the drive by wire throttle is. On the M5 it also controls the power steering boost. It doesnt change the shift speeds at all. The E60 M5 (the new one) seems like it combines a driver selectable shift speed mode along with the "MDrive" button.

I suspect the reasons for the power button and for the car starting up in default 400hp more has to do with emissions and fuel economy or some other technical reason.

I think the sport/ power button is a marketing mistake. In a sports car/ sedan the car should start up in the sport mode. I think they could offer a comfort mode for those wishing a more leisurely experience.

BMW and Mercedes approach the driving experience from different vantage points, we should appreciate that.

Best Regards,
Jerry (MEnthusiast from M5.com)