BMW has achieved the seemingly impossible goal of simultaneously increasing both the performance and efficiency of its flagship sports sedan, the M5, despite increasing weight by about 100kg.

The secret to the new M5’s laudable double act is a pair of twin-scroll turbochargers, nestled alongside the exhaust ports in the valley of its 4.4-litre direct-injection V8, which delivers 10 per cent more power and 30 per cent more torque, while returning 30 per cent lower fuel consumption than the larger 5.0-litre V10 it replaces.

Commendably, the new M5 is also $12,000 cheaper than before at $230,000, making it almost $11,000 less than its most direct rival in the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG sedan, with BMW claiming that a host of extra standard equipment makes it $25,000 better value than before.

So the fifth-generation M5 is quicker and more sophisticated, yet cheaper and more efficient, but does BMW’s first turbocharged M5 represent a step forward in the lineage of the 27-year-old breed?