When a car gets too much power, you start to run out of things you can race it against that actually stand a chance of beating it. We don't know about you, but 1,000 hp is usually considered a lot.
We have quite a few hypercars these days that reach or even go over that number, yet in most case, it's the kind of output reserved for massively tuned cars. It's the sort of thing you expect from Toyota Supra or a Nissan GT-R, but why should the Japanese get to have all the fun? Ze Germans would like in as well.
In stock form, the BMW M5 produces 600 hp (625 in the Competition version) and 553 lb-ft (750 Nm) of torque from its 4.4-liter bi-turbo V8 engine. However, with a Stage 3 tune from Evolve, the sporty sedan now has a claimed output of 1,000 hp. Add the xDrive all-wheel-drive system to the mix and you have one hell of a drag racing machine on your hands.
If it's to win today's race, however, it's going to need every last drip of performance because it's up against some serious adversaries. Calling these cars "tuned" would be an insult. Technically, they are, but "engineered" would be a much more fitting word to describe them.
The BMW is joined by a Ford Fiesta, a MINI John Cooper Works, and a Ford RS200, all prepped for Rallycross. Their little four-cylinder engines produce incredible amounts of power - 500 hp for the RS200, 550 for the Fiesta, and 600 hp for the MINI - and they all have all-wheel-drive systems, meaning putting the power down on the asphalt shouldn't be a problem.
Two of them, the newer ones, also have sequential racing gearboxes, whereas the venerable Ford has to shift gear the good old fashioned manual way. All in all, it should be an interesting one because these are the kind of cars you don't normally see sitting side by side. The fact they’re worth over $1.5 million between them might play a role there.
It could genuinely go either way, and the on-track experience proves it. It's one of the most intense and exciting videos we've seen from carwow and, considering the quality productions the British channel has gotten us used to, that says a lot.
The BMW has everything going for it, except for weight. And as if the vehicle's own bulk wasn't enough, there are also two people inside, one of which isn't exactly on very good terms with the scale. Hit "play" below to see how it goes, and make sure you don't miss Mat's savage moment during his talk with the RS200 owner after the latter's turbocharger decided to melt. Oh, did we not mention that incident?
"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie) Full profile
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