1000-HP Built BMW M5 Takes On 1000-HP Porsche 911, Instant Regrets Flood the Dragstrip

As far as high-end carmaking goes, Porsche had better come up with something really out of this world, like teleporting, to get people to talk more highly about them. Until then, it’s pretty much a one-way conversation: wherever the rearing horse from Stuttgart makes an appearance, it becomes the instant yardstick in a ‘Porsche vs. The World’ type of scenario.

And yet, even the Germans’ iconic sportscar can reach the next level with a few upgrades on top of its stock internals. Basically, that’s what the tuning company ES Motor does to 911s – and so much more, but that’s another story. Or, more to the point, that’s what they did to this example featured in the video below, courtesy of the Officially Gassed YouTube channel.

A 1000-hp modified Porsche 911 Turbo S 992 is anything but a joke, even though it makes drag racing events seem like a good Sunday afternoon laugh. Lined up next to a 1000-hp BMW M5 (the F90 iteration), the Porsche seems to live in an alternate universe where seconds and quarter miles don’t last as long as we’re used to here on Planet Piston.

The rules of engagement are simple and straightforward: rolling start races, followed by classic standing 1,320-foot sprints, best two out of three. Both cars make about the same amount of power, and both drive all four wheels via tuned eight-speed automatics (Porsche uses the dual-clutch setup). The BMW is up on the Porsche on engine size, body mass, number of cylinders, and custom engine internals.

4.4-liter eight-cylinder (stacked in a Vee) vs. 3.8-liter flat-six, 1.9 tons without driver against 1.65 tons empty, and a forged engine with a sleeved block. Add methanol injection and a few other critical mechanical upgrades (see the list in the gallery), and that family sedan will become a getaway car instead of a late-morning school runner.

The Porsche needs little introduction, if any, but we’ll drop the hybrid turbos, headers, stainless steel exhaust, meth-cooling, and software uprating. The end result is a four-people means of sportscar personal transportation (at very high speeds). The passenger head count might seem like a joke when a Porsche 911 is the car in question, but play the video at 11:00 and see for yourself.

After the BMW gets smacked in the roll races (no wonder, since the 911’s power-to-weight ratio of 606 bhp/ton massively outguns the 522 rating of the M5), the driver of the Beemer asks for a more balanced bout. No sweat, since the Porsche can lower its boost at the push of a button.

Literally, it can switch between the ECU mapping stages with the flick of a lever on the column – but even that won’t cut it for the sedan. With a lowered power figure of around 940 hp (roughly 800 horses at the wheels), the 911 is still a hypersonic missile, leaving its rival in the dust.

The only other way to even things out a little is to bring the cars to a similar power-to-weight standard by stuffing three passengers in the Porsche. With 250 extra kilograms (550 lbs) and with the low-power setting loaded, the 911 crosses the finish line last. Just to clear the air, that F90 is no slouch, and the numbers speak for themselves.

The four-door family car managed a 9.92-second standing quarter (with a 2.31-second zero-to-sixty score) at over 142 miles per hour (228 kph). It also achieved a 5.51-second time in the 62-124 mph acceleration test (100-200 kph). The Porsche, on the other hand, ran five-tenths quicker (9.45 seconds in for the 440-yard dash, at a trap speed of 150 mph / 241 kph) and took 2.14 seconds to reach 60 mph (97 kph) from a standstill. Lighter and more powerful, the ES Motor-prepped 911 dropped a 3.99-second result in the 62-124 mph run.

Yes, it’s very much apples vs. oranges here, but then again, what’s the point of putting all that extra horsepower in a car if not to get to the finish line first, regardless of who’s running alongside? After all, in a Stoplight Grand Prix, it’s highly unlikely that someone will start throwing out passengers to save weight and get a better chance at the Big W.

An inch or a mile, a win is a win, and a loss is a loss. Just to give everyone something to think about, ES Motor stresses that the Porsche is still wearing off-the-shelf vital components. However, they have something cooking up in their labs—a 1,700-hp fully built 911. Anyone care to go head-to-head against that?