Over the days since BMW ///Ms marketing teaser of the ///M5 I have thought about my expectations and how they differ from most. As an active member on forums and in doing my best to stay on top of all things in the BMW world I have noticed that many people see this next ///M5 to be unreal.

Literally unreal, I have read 600 HP and 575 lb-ft of torque blatantly speculated and thrown about like it is fact. The truth is that nobody outside Garching knows those numbers, whether they think they do or not. Even BMW ‘s notorious leakman “Scott/Herr ” has been mum on the output of the beast.

What is known are the weights and numbers of the cars competing in the “bahnburner ” segment. The Porsche Panamera Turbo weighs in at a lofty 4343 pounds. Power numbers reside in at 500 HPand up to 568 lb-ft. The Cadillac CTS-V and the whir of its supercharger crank out 556 HP and 551 lb-Ft. The Caddy tips the scales at 4250, surprisingly lighter than the Porsche. An autobahn war would not be complete without AMG throwing some flames, so the final competitor in the segment is of course the E63 Mercedes Benz. The Merc is the lightest and has the least output, although the largest displacement. 518hp/465 ft-lbs moving 4048 lbs.

Now comes the number that matters. The BMW 550i is the basis of the ///M5 and it weighs in at a relatively svelte 3946 lbs. Adding a hundred pounds just in case ///M confused Carbon Fiber and lead would make the ///M5 the lightest of the group still.

That begs the question- Does ///M need to even change the output numbers from the X5/X6 ///Ms? They come in at 555hp and 500 torques. That is 1 HP less than Caddy and gobs more torque than the MB. Does a lighter car in a more developed chassis need to have even more power than the competition?

To me it doesn ‘t, there is a point with rear wheel drive cars when too much power takes away from the rest of the experience and overall ability. For that reason I am guestimating that ///M will make the number the biggest in class but not by much. Fuel economy and street drivability are also important- remember the past model was 500 hp so even with the new car pushing 560 hp it would be a significant gain.

This is all conjecture on my part but I honestly don ‘t see the point of 600 HP in a sedan that would have been classified as a 7 Series less than a decade ago. Your thoughts are always welcomed.