2006 Hamann BMW M5 Edition Race

Motoring Channel Staff - 8/June/2006

The BMW M5 is not your standard German luxury car: at the push of a button it's power can be hiked from 400 to 500 horsepower, at which time the seats adjust automatically in anticipation of the heavy cornering loads to come. It's a sports car with more features than you could fit into a 2000 word article, yet there are those who feel it has not yet reached its zenith.

Hamann is one.

Always quick to extract more performance from the world's quickest cars, one of the first things Hamann wanted to do with the M5 was to rid it of its 250km/h speed governor, allowing the 10-cylinder super saloon to truly stretch it's legs.

Hamann calls it's latest creation the M5 Edition Race, and with a 320km/h top speed and a special wide-bodied aero bodykit, it's not a car for the introverted.

Hamann explains that it can offer clients three different engine tuning options. The first is almost untouched - the high revving 5.0-litre V10 with 373kW/500hp and 520Nm is limited to 250km/h as standard, and by removing the engine limiter the racy Bavarian can reach top speeds of more than 300km/h, depending on the wheel and tyre combination.

The second option is made up of a combination of removing the engine limiter and optimising the engine characteristics by reprogramming the standard engine control unit (ECU). The German tuning house says that this process manages to tease an additional 35hp/26kW and 15Nm out of the V10 engine.

And then there's the top shelf option, which the company calls the "HM/M +60" sport kit. This kit is made up of high-performance headers, metallic sports catalytic converters, a sports rear silencer, a sports air filter, an engine map optimisation and the removal of engine restrictions. As the name of the sports kit suggests, the engine provides an additional 60hp/44kW and can provide an extra 54Nm of torque, meaning that a notably faster top speed of beyond 320km/h can be attained.

Though Hamann has not released any performance statistics for it's range-topping 417kW M5 Race Edition, it's expected to hit 100km/h from rest in less than 4.5 seconds when using the launch control system.

Next to the engine modifications that help circumvent the car's traditional 250km/h top speed, Hamann says it's wide-body kit is an equally important upgrade, helping to stabilise the car at higher speeds through corners, such as might be experienced on a closed circuit.

The wide body-modification, which Hamann calls "Edition Race" (ER) extends the vehicle's width. The kit consists of an ER front spoiler (including upper beam headlights), ER side sills as well as ER wheel arch extensions to be mounted at the front and the rear. Thanks to this body kit, the M5 comes close to the DTM Touring Car looks and ensures the vehicle appears more muscular. The styling of the front and rear wheel arches that give the vehicle its wide-body look have a certain bat-mobile presence, but overall the effect is visually positive.

Other features that Hamann offers include a front spoiler, which is attached to the standard front spoiler and helps to create greater downforce over the front axle. A new rear bumper section with cut-outs for the quad pipe rear silencer aids air flow exiting underneath the vehicle, and the roof is crowned by a roof spoiler, which also helps to ensure that the M5 remains firmly on the road at high speeds.

Further downforce is generated by the rear spoiler which may or may not be to everyone's tastes, detracting somewhat from the smooth bootlid, yet he who prefers race car-like optics can order an even more outrageous twin-rear spoiler instead. Sports mirrors, which are electrically adjustable and heated, and optionally also electrically folding, can be had, and all body parts, except the front apron explains Hamann, can be ordered in carbon-kevlar for those who want less weight. But they don't come cheap...

Hamann also claims that it's new stainless steel quad exhaust system emits a rumble that is enough to give you goosebumps, adding that caution is necessary in order to avoid acoustic addiction.

Complementing the powertrain and body kit modifications, a suspension lowering kit with progressive-action suspension springs is used for lowering the body, giving the car a more aggressive presence on the asphalt. This brings the Hamann M5 some 30mm closer to the tarmac at the front and 25mm lower at the rear, and with it's top speed of beyond 300km/h, anyone who paid attention during physics can imagine just what is required to slow down a vehicle travelling at high speed.

The Hamann engineers have certainly done their homework and have given the BMW a sports braking system on the front axle. It is composed of slotted and inside-vented brake discs, 380mm in diameter and 34mm thick, mated to Hamann 8-piston fixed calliper brakes in red (other colours are available on request), special brake pads, flexible steel brake pipes and adapters for a stronger pedal feel, plus the complete fastening hardware. Fitted with braking equipment such as this, nothing stands in the way of pushing the dial on the speedometer past the 250km/h mark.

Hamann provides a range of different wheels to frame the massive 380mm front disc brakes offering no fewer than five wheel types in 19- to 21-inch diameters. For clients who opt for the wide body-version of the M5, Hamann recommends the 21-inch "Edition Race" rims, shod with 255/30 tyres up front and giant 295/25 tyres at the rear. With such attractive wheels, Hamann also offers sets of shims and anti-theft systems with lockable wheel bolts for the rims.

Finally, the Laupheim-based tuning house can also fit an interior set made from carbon for the dashboard and centre console, adding a touch of racing car atmosphere to the cockpit. This effect is augmented by various aluminium components, such as a driver's footrest, hand brake lever and a complete set of pedals to match. On top of it's "Edition Race" upgrades, Hamann insists that it will also customise any M5 according to each client's specific requests, with extravagant leather upholsteries and even extensive multimedia conversions (DVD, TV, Playstation, etc.) all par for the course, while colour coded carbon fibre interior trim is also popular (see image below).

Related: BMW M6 Edition Race by Hamann.