News / 2 March 2022 / Albert du Toit

BMW M5 CS now available in South Africa – A R3.8-million super-sedan

The most hardcore BMW M5 ever built, the M5 CS, has gone on sale in South Africa at a starting price of R3,822,356.

This makes the M5 CS around R1.5 million more expensive than the standard M5 Competition.

For this extra spend, you get the most powerful M car on the market and a host of performance-enhancing additions that not only serve a purpose, but also make the CS look much more aggressive.

Performance

The new BMW M5 CS boasts a 4.4-litre, V8, twin-turbo petrol engine producing 467kW and 750Nm – a 7kW improvement over the Competition model with the same powerplant.

Putting the power to the ground is an eight-speed Sports automatic transmission via BMW’s xDrive all-wheel-drive system.

This bespoke drivetrain also offers a rear-wheel-drive-only mode as well as driver-configurable power delivery between the axles, with one setting that is tuned to get the best lap times around the Nurburgring-Nordschleife.

Pirelli P Zero Corsa track tyres wrapped around lightweight 20-inch alloy wheels and carbon-ceramic brakes are standard, too.

A weight reduction of 70kg – to a kerb weight of 1,825kg – and a height reduction of 7mm further enable the M5 CS to achieve spectacular performance figures.

The results:

0-100km/h – 3 seconds
0-200km/h – 10.3 seconds
Top speed – 305km/h
Quarter mile – 10.6 seconds at 209km/h
100-0km/h – 30 metres

For reference, the M5 Competition reaches 100km/h in 3.3 seconds, 200km/h in 10.8 seconds, has a top speed of 305km/h, finishes the quarter-mile in 10.8 seconds at 206km/h, and takes 32 metres to stop from 100km/h.

Features

To make the M5 CS stand out next to its siblings, the super-sedan sees yellow laser-LED headlights, gold-bronze Y-spoke wheels, a full carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) hood, and a CFRP front splitter, mirror caps, rear spoiler, rear diffuser, engine cover, and intake silencer.

The premium M5 will also only be available in three exterior colours, namely Brands Hatch Grey, Frozen Brands Hatch Grey metallic, and Frozen Deep Green metallic.

The cabin is quite similar to the model it is based on and features exclusive CS badging, an M Alcantara multifunction steering wheel with red drive-mode buttons and carbon paddles, a large digital instrument cluster, and a heads-up-display.

In addition, the high-end M5 is equipped with the most premium iDrive infotainment system in the BMW stable, a 12.3-inch central screen with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and BMW ConnectedServices support.

At the front, you will then find two Merino leather M Carbon bucket seats with Mugello Red accents and a Nurburgring silhouette in the headrests, while the rear bench has been turned into two individual seats also finished in the same materials.