BMW Has Confirmed A Seriously Quick Quad-Turbo Diesel M550d

If cars almost never have enough forced induction for your tastes, BMW is offering a quad-turbo 5 Series to ease your malaise. The four blowers on the new 2017 M550d push the diesel-burning motor’s output to 394bhp and a tasty 561lb ft of torque.

You might have noticed that the figures for the 3.0-litre engine are the same as those already released for BMW’s 750d, indicating that it’s just a simple transplant with no additional tuning. The 5 and 7 Series are built on the same chassis, so it’s an easy job. The 5 is lighter, though, and faster.

The 0-62mph launch is expected to take no more than 4.4 seconds, making it just a tenth slower than the F10 M5. It will easy hit the 155mph speed limiter without breaking a sweat, making the most of eight broadly-spaced ratios in the eight-speed automatic gearbox.

It’s going to be made as a saloon and a Touring model, the latter of which is slightly slower because of the extra weight, but both will have active rear wheel steering courtesy of the Integral Active Steering system. It’s usually an option but it’s being touted as standard equipment on the M550d. It helps reduce the turning circle at low speed while increasing stability when you’re gunning it.

The torque figures on this thing are pretty incredible, thanks to the combination of two low-pressure and two high-pressure turbos that work in sync to deliver linear acceleration through the rev range. The six-cylinder unit is already producing 332lb ft at just 1000rpm, and to put that into perspective, that’s 37lb ft more than a Golf R makes at its peak.

Peak torque arrives at 2000rpm and is maintained for another 1000rpm, while peak power is set at a relatively distant 4400rpm. If you can resist the temptation to use the performance, 40mpg is a plausible overall average for the saloon, BMW says, or 38mpg for the Touring. Diesel may not have long left for this world, but while it lasts, could this be the best real-world 5 Series a car enthusiast can buy?