SPIED: The 2012 BMW M5's Interior Is Fully REVEALED

And the excitement is about what exactly?

Dear BMW, please, please, please do NOT make the center console trim out of that matte black plastic like it is in these pictures and it is in the M3. That is my absolute least favorite part of the M3's interior -- it looks cheap, it clashes with light interiors, and it doesn't match the rest of the interior trim. I sincerely hope the interior in that test mule is not production ready, and that when the car is fully revealed you have center console trim that matches the rest of the trim, just like on all your other vehicles, save the M3 (feel free to fix that in the M3 while you're at it). Thank you.

Being the most performance focused car, I believe you can a strong case that the matte material has been chosen for the M cars because it doesn't glare. In the northern US it might not seem like a big deal, but in the southwest glare off of every bit of shiny or polished material can be highly distracting. The last thing you need when doing 110 into an off camber sweeper (during a track day) is to be shot in the eye with a beam of sunlight reflected off of interior trim. Think of the matte surface as a high level refinement for a purpose built model.

glare while driving would be more of an issue on the dash trim than the center console, and the dash trim will still have plenty of aluminum and shiny bits. That center console trim should match the rest of the interior, and be made out of something that looks at least as upscale than the lower models, not less so. I don't care if they make it the same as the rest of the aluminum or wood trim, cover it with leather or vinyl, or whatever. Just make it look more upscale than the lower models, and make it not clash with every interior color but black.

We aren't really in disagreement, JRobUSC. Just focused on different goals. BTW the sun does hit the center console (I am regularly move my phone to cover up the glare) and this new material seems like an improvement to me, but I hear where you are coming from.

Sure it's a fantastic car for cruising the highway or spirited driving on winding roads, but this is not a car for a track day. With the weight and relatively high center of gravity, it will eat up tires and brake pads very quickly. Put in four or five consecutive laps on a track like Laguna Seca in this beast and you'll see what I mean.

There have been one or more M5s at nearly every BMW track event I have been to. I have seen M5s from every generation at various track events.
(A tip to you: use track pads for track days)

The reason for track pads isn't to get a longer life out of them, it is to reduce brake fade caused by heat build up since the compounds they use operate more efficiently at higher temperatures. Therefor a track pad will have longer wear - - - but now you will be sacrificing your rotors since the biggest enemy of rotor wear is heat. Your option now better rotors (multi-piece for better heat dissipation), but it is a very expensive option. Sorry, but there just is no getting around Physics. A bigger, heavier car with a higher center gravity takes more effort to stop, and with brake pads and rotors being sacrificial material, more is removed. For the same reason, if driven fast, 911's eat up rear tires. Even though it is a relative light weight car, as you begin accelerating hard just past mid apex, there is a tremendous weight transfer to the rear outside wheel.
What I meant to say in my earlier post it that the M does not make an "ideal" track car. I would expect to see M5s on the local track. I see Dodge Neons, VW Beetles and just about any other make of car available out for track day. Good for them, they are learning there car and improving there driving skills - - - the whole reason for track day.

IMO, if you own a 100k vehicle and are worrying about a set of tires or brakes, you are in the wrong vehicle.

The problem is, you have idiots who live in the basement of their mom's house, working to pay for their car and when a maintenance bill comes in they freak.

My rule of thumb: You should make 3x the amount of your vehicle. Meaning, you should have an income of 300k to have this vehicle. 95% of the people who own this vehicle DO NOT make more than 300k and that's the problem. There are wayyy too many BMW's and MB's on the road and way too little income.

It's silly to see people with incomes of 60k or so driving a 40k 3 series. How the hell do you afford anything else? Retirement savings? FOOD? I don't know how it's possible!!!

"Put in four or five consecutive laps on a track like Laguna Seca in this beast and you'll see what I mean"

If you are wearing out your brakes that quickly you are doing something wrong. I assumed you must be talking about fade so I gave you a simple and inexpensive solution.

"Put in four or five consecutive laps on a track like Laguna Seca in this beast and you'll see what I mean"

If you are wearing out your brakes that quickly you are doing something wrong. I assumed you must be talking about fade so I gave you a simple and inexpensive solution.

Ugly wheels, tires with waaaaay to big aspect ratios and a booooring interior with little to add over a spec 550........

Too bad. Gone are the days of the E39 M5 with M logo on the headrests- your choice of red or silverstone leather inserts for the seats, grey M dials, and the list goes on.

Hopefully the actual prod model will be better......

UM.... The M3 is going to have the inserts in the leather for September production this year and I would imagine it would follow suit to the M5.
I do wish they has the "M" colors stitched on the seats as piping and the "M" logo on the headrest on the black seats. Thats the only interior I would go with.

I had a chance to drive the E60 M5 with the manual transmission. Utterly terrible. There was zero harmony between the V10 and the E39 M5 6-speed transmission. I felt that BMW did a hack-job in that regard and, having not driven the E60 SMG M5 at all, would definitely select that car blindly over the manual version.

The interior looks great, very sporty. I cant wait to see the specs on this monster.