BMW M5 Competition (F90, 2023) — the sixth generation, the last without an electric motor

The VertexRent fleet now has three cars called M5, and the blue F90 is the only one of them without a single gram of electrification. The seventh generation, the G90, added a plug-in hybrid and put on almost half a tonne of weight. This car is from a different M5 era, when all the drive came straight from the petrol V8, with no buffer of electronics between the pedal and the rear wheels.

In short. BMW M5 Competition F90 2023 — four-door saloon, 5 seats. S63B44T4, 4.4 l V8, twin-turbo, up to 625 hp (metric, per BMW’s global press release for the Competition version). M xDrive all-wheel drive with a switchable 2WD mode. Top speed 250 km/h.

What this car is

The F90 replaced the F10 in 2017 and immediately broke a half-century tradition: for the first time in M5 history, there was all-wheel drive. BMW called the system M xDrive and left a loophole for purists — a 2WD mode that disconnects the front axle entirely. The Competition version of 2018 added 25 horsepower to the base car, lowered the suspension by 7 mm and made it 10% stiffer.

This 2023 example is a late-run F90, from just before the generation change. From the G90 M Hybrid, also in the fleet, it differs not cosmetically but in its entire architecture: there, an S68 with an electric motor integrated into the transmission and a battery under the floor; here, a pure S63, exactly the same type of turbo V8 as in the E63/M8. The blue car should also be distinguished from a third listing with a similar name: the Manhart tuning version on the same F90 platform — a separate car with modified software and exhaust system, not this listing.

In the press the F90 generation is often compared with the G90, and not in the latter’s favour: without the hybrid add-on the car is almost half a tonne lighter, and at this power level the difference in mass is felt not in the abstract but in every braking and every turn of the wheel.

Technical details

Power deserves a separate comment. BMW has two official figures for the Competition in parallel: 625 hp in metric units per the global press releases and 617 hp per the releases for the USA and Canada — a difference in measurement methodology, not a discrepancy in facts. For this particular fleet car, neither figure is documented, so in the specification it is given with a caveat rather than as a fact about the car.

On the model’s catalogue card two numbers sit side by side for top speed: 250 km/h as the standard value and 305 km/h as the M Driver’s Package option. The card’s own FAQ states plainly that the higher figure is not documented for this example. The difference from the fleet’s previous, hybrid package (the M5 G90) is fundamental: there, 250 km/h is documented as a fact about the car; here, there is simply no data on whether the package is fitted — so we take the conservative 250 and do not present 305 as a characteristic of this car.

How it drives

The main difference from the G90 is read not in the acceleration figures but in the response. The electric motor in the hybrid M5 adds torque at the bottom and smooths out the dips in boost; here the drive comes straight from the turbos, with that very lag and the surge that follows it, which people praise or curse depending on taste. There is not much lag, but it is there, and it is exactly what makes the engine feel more alive to the ear and under the pedal.

Steering is not the F90 generation’s strong point. The specialist press describes it as quick but “nervous”, without pronounced feedback from the road — and that is exactly the same complaint levelled at the G90 successor. The hybrid add-on neither solved this problem nor made it worse: it has remained a shared trait of both M5 generations on the turbo platform, and there is no reason to be surprised by it in the blue car.

Mass, on the other hand, works in its favour here. The F90 is almost half a tonne lighter than the G90, and on a twisty section that is felt sooner than on a straight: the body changes direction more willingly, the brakes are put under less strain with each application, and all-wheel drive with 2WD available gives a choice — drive “engineering-safe” or disconnect the front end and get the classic rear-wheel-drive M manner with the full 625 hp behind the driver.

Sound is another story here too. A turbo V8 without electronics does not sing like a naturally aspirated engine, but nor is it muted by the hybrid silence of the G90’s low-load modes — it works evenly and predictably across the rev range, with no switching between an “electric” and a “sport” character.

The brake pedal deserves a separate word. On a heavy all-wheel-drive saloon with 625 hp it demands a confident press from the first time: there is no dead spot, but do not expect the lightness that carbon-ceramic sets give on other cars in the fleet — the brakes here are steel, standard, designed for everyday use rather than a track day. For a rental that is more of a plus: fewer tantrums when cold, more stable behaviour in the first minutes after setting off.

Interior and practicality

Five seats, four doors, the boot of an ordinary executive saloon — here there is almost no difference between the generations: the G90 does not lose volume to the battery under the floor, the F90 is simply electronically simpler. The difference lies elsewhere — in the multimedia and the set of assistants: the F90 got them a generation earlier than the G90, and by 2023 standards they are no longer the most current, although everything needed for a multi-day trip is there.

The rear bench here is designed for proper adult passengers, not a short trip with knees tucked up — the difference from the brand’s two-door flagships in the fleet is felt straight away, as soon as you open a rear door. The F90 inherits this advantage from the saloon body in full, sacrificing none of it for a sporting image.

The blue body colour here is not an incidental detail of the catalogue but effectively part of this particular car’s identity: it sets the car apart from the black M4 and from the other saloons in the line-up at first glance, before the door is even opened. Inside — a combination of electrically adjustable sport seats and the ordinary F90-generation instrument panel: without the touch elements and digital graphics that arrived with the G90, but with menu logic that is clear and quick to learn, which for a car rented for a few days sometimes matters more than an up-to-date interface.

In Czech conditions

The top step of the Czech scale is 130 km/h on the motorway, and you cannot legally go faster regardless of whether the car can do 250 or 305 km/h. In town the usual 50 applies, and outside it the speed rises by road class up to the expressways with their higher limit.

There is no per-mille threshold in Czech law at all: any alcohol in the body rules out driving, and drinking during the trip is prohibited by a separate provision.

Headlights or daytime running lights are on at all times, in any season and any weather. A formality that is easy to forget when arriving from a country with a softer rule.

Since 2021 the motorway vignette exists only in electronic form: an entry in the register tied to the registration number of a specific car, not a sticker on the windscreen and not a pass that can be handed to another car.

November to March: if the surface is snow-covered, icy or touched by frost, or the weather is heading that way, winter tyres are compulsory. Tread no shallower than 4 mm. For a heavy all-wheel-drive saloon with 625 hp this is not a formality: the mass demands grippy tyres more insistently than the letter of the law does.

Where to go. A heavy all-wheel-drive saloon with a turbo V8 needs a road where the drive can be laid out along straights and wide arcs. A fast, flat run — yes; a narrow switchback with constant steering inputs — no, there the mass is felt sooner than the power.

Who it suits and who it doesn’t

It suits anyone who wants an M5 without a hybrid layer between the pedal and the wheels: turbo-V8 response without electronic smoothing, almost half a tonne less weight than the successor and a 2WD mode for those who sometimes want to disconnect the front end entirely. A good choice too for those travelling two to four with luggage for a few days — the saloon handles that without a coupé’s compromises.

It doesn’t suit you if the only goal is the 305 km/h quoted in the catalogue: for this example it is not confirmed, and it should not be counted on. Nor is it the best choice for a narrow mountain road with frequent bends — the mass and the width of the body work against the driver there, as they do in the heavier hybrid successor.

For a comparison of the generations, the fleet has the BMW M5 M Hybrid (G90) card — more powerful and more technologically advanced, but heavier and with only 250 km/h confirmed. Anyone interested in the version with modified software on the same F90 platform should open the BMW M5 Competition Manhart card. Current terms for the blue car are on the model page.

FAQ

How does this M5 differ from the hybrid G90 in the same fleet? In powertrain architecture and mass. Here, a pure twin-turbo V8 without an electric motor; there, the same type of engine plus an electric motor in the transmission and a battery under the floor. The difference in mass is about half a tonne in this car’s favour, and it is felt in corners and under braking more than in the acceleration figures.

Is the 305 km/h top speed real? The model’s catalogue card carries both figures: 250 km/h as the standard value and 305 km/h as the M Driver’s Package option. For this particular example the package is not documented, so the specification gives the conservative figure — 250 km/h.

How much horsepower does it really have? BMW officially published up to 625 hp in metric units for the Competition version (or 617 hp by US standards — a difference in measurement methodology). For this fleet car neither figure is confirmed by separate documentation, so the power is given with a caveat.

What does the 2WD mode do? It disconnects the front axle entirely and, with it, all the all-wheel-drive electronics. The car turns into a classic rear-wheel-drive M5 with full power behind the driver — an option for those who want a controllable slide rather than a safety net.

Can you drive the M5 in winter? Formally yes, provided you observe the Czech winter-tyre rule of at least 4 mm of tread between 1 November and 31 March. All-wheel drive and the 4WD mode make getting going on snow easier, but with the saloon’s mass and 625 hp it is wiser to stay away from narrow mountain roads even on winter tyres.

Why is there no specific route from Prague in the article? All the directions from the project’s shared pool are already assigned to other blog articles. Instead of a specific route, the article describes the type of road on which the car comes into its own — wide and fast rather than narrow and mountainous.