Enthusiasts who read these pages know what
they want in a car. And while they often enjoy the quirky just as much as the
bona fide barnburners — vintage Porsches are as equally beloved as the Ladas
and Grand Wagoneers among our staff, for instance—but a few models form the
backbone of most enthusiasts’ passion. The BMW M5 is certainly prime among
them.
The reasons are manifold but can be reduced
to a simple left-brain concept: With a car like the M5, fast does not come at
the expense of practicality. You can tote the family and tear up the tarmac with
equal aplomb.
The
BMW M5 features less chassis gadgetry than regular 5-series
And yet, to call the M5 simply fast renders
flat what this car truly feels like at speed. We’re talking about almost 4,400
pounds hurtling through space, like some rocket sled testing physics’ limits on
steel and glass and rubber, the driver a guinea pig for the effects of high gs
on flesh. If that sounds dramatic, well, it is. But it’s also pretty darn
accurate.
Our dual-clutch-equipped test M5 proved
quickly just how accurate at the track. After we managed to decode how to
engage launch control, the BMW banged out its first 4.0-second 0-60 mph run. Then
another. And another. With little drama, less wheel spin and a rock-steady
demeanor, the car simply hunkered down and hung on during every run, the barest
wheel chirp at launch and the turbo V8’s roar blasting into the cabin. The best
we could achieve without launch control was 4.3 seconds.
Cabin
features M5-exclusive textured aluminium trim
Likewise for the quarter-mile. The car just
blew off the line, building speed quickly with the gearbox cracking through
snappy, smooth shifts. We put down a best time of 12.4 seconds at 117.7 mph.
The M5 also displayed amazing high-speed stability, the body riding low on
grippy Michelin Pilot Super Sports as it flew down the asphalt.
Bringing the whole two-and- a-quarter-ton
beast to a stop from those speeds requires some beefy binders; the M5
thankfully has them (15.7-inch fronts, 15.6 rear). Brake-pedal feel was firm, and
in just 117.0 feet, the M5 came to a halt from 60 mph. World class.
Twin-turbocharged
V8 serves up 502lb ft of torque
Our Auto file test procedure features a
fairly tight, eight-cone, 490-foot slalom course; as a rule, it favors smaller,
nimbler vehicles. The M5, however, ate up the course without even blinking. The
car tracked through easily with the gearbox in manual mode, using second gear
to keep it in the meat of the power band and the suspension in the stiffest setting.
We got the rear to swing around nicely using the throttle, while weight transitions
side to side were tidy, keeping the car’s heft well controlled.
Around our 200-foot skid-pad, the car felt
almost flat; the front just kept on turning in as the back end followed around
dutifully. It all felt neutral and took a lot for the front end to begin to
wash out.
Driving
position is excellent and seats offer plenty of adjustment
It’s worth noting that the Michelin Pilot
Super Sports are among the best performance rubber available; they deserve some
credit for the M5’s stellar track showings. Still, the power, the power-train flexibility
(much improved over the previous version’s V10, by the way), the beautiful body
control — and all bundled in a family friendly sedan package — make for one
compelling enthusiast-mobile. Long live the BMW M5.
