New cut-price BMW M5 revealed

BMW's M5 performance hero has been reinvented with a new model entering showrooms, aimed at attracting would-be buyers who baulked at the car's price-tag as well as attempting to head AMG off at the pass.

Dubbed the M5 Pure, the new entry-level M5 (if that's not an Olympic-standard oxy-moron) is sharply priced at $185,000 versus the $229,540 of the standard model.

You will, however, trade off a tiny amount of performance and a small chunk of luxury in opting for the Pure model, but given the lofty standards of the M5 to begin with, it's still hardly slumming it.

And don't be fooled by the Pure tag; this is not a higher-performance model aimed at track-day warriors.

Instead, it's a way to get a V8-powered M-car into showrooms at a price that will go head to head with the new Mercedes-AMG C63.

So what's different on the M5 Pure?

The Competition Pack, which was made standard on Australian M5s about 18 months ago and hikes power to 423kW, is dropped form the Pure, but the loss of power is an on-paper one only as it's undetectable from behind the wheel.

Torque of the Pure, meanwhile, is an identical 680Nm as the 'normal' M5.

While it's not being marketed as the sportiest M5, other elements of the Pure do give it a sporty flavour.

It gets, for instance a different suspension tune with a 10mm lower ride height, and the electrically-assisted steering has been modified with a slightly faster ratio and a different weighting.

It promises to be slightly lighter, too, with some luxury gear such as the full leather trim (it retains partial leather) alcantara roof lining and multi-function front seats ditched in favour of less expensive (but still pretty lush) replacements.

The soft-close doors have also been deleted saving more weight, and the 30kg sunroof becomes an extra-cost option.

The M5's sun blinds and TV have also bitten the dust in the move to Pure specification.

And to make the model stand-out on the street, it can be ordered in a range of matt colours as well as conventional, full-gloss, colours.

Cheaper though it may be, the Pure is still a serious piece of hardware and offers up a 0-100km/h time of 4.3 seconds.

The slight loss of power is, as we mentioned, no issue at all and the seven-speed DCT transmission remains to make the most of the prodigious power.

Similarly, the revised suspension doesn't appear to alter the car's personality at all, but the steering is a definite improvement.

Where the standard M5 has been criticised for a wooden feeling through the helm, the Pure's extra weight and quicker ratio also amounts to more natural feel and feedback through the leather wheel.

It's still a big, wide car and doesn't point like, say the new M3, but it does seem a bit more accurate at speed.

What the Pure model hasn't addressed though, is the lack of an inspirational soundtrack.

The partially synthesised engine note just doesn't gel as a high-revving V8 engine, either from inside the car or standing on the footpath listening to it blast by.

There's the odd pop and burp during gearchanges, but beyond that, the M5 is faster than it sounds.

The other gripe is a personal one: Why, when the Pure is a two-pedal car is the brake pedal positioned away to the right, making it less than perfect for those of us who like to left-foot-brake?

However, if the $229,540 BMW M5 isn't exclusive enough for you, BMW feels your pain.

Limited to just 10 of each, the M5 is now available in two new limited editions; the Nighthawk and the White Shadow.

Priced at $235,930 for either version, BMW says more than $20,000 of value has been built into each package.

The Nighthawk is available in either black or matt black, while the White Shadow can be had in – hold on to your hat – metallic white or matt white.

Beyond that, the `Hawk and Shadow are the same critters with 20-inch blacked-out wheels, a 16-speaker stereo (itself a $10,000 option on M5) a tyre-pressure monitoring system and various carbon-fibre bits and pieces including the gear-knob and mirror covers.