2020 BMW M5 Races Audi RS7 Sportback, Loser Gets Taught Lesson in How Cars Work

Sure, the two weigh roughly the same, but the Audi is the older car here, meaning it’s not going to be as sharp as a state-of-the-art super sedan. For starters, the RS7’s eight-speed Tiptronic gearbox, while solid, isn’t as good as the M5’s eight-speed ZF automatic.

To make matters worse for the Audi, the F90 M5 is the first M5 ever to feature an all-wheel drive system (rear-biased xDrive), which automatically cancels the Audi’s advantage off the line.

The only question one might have is whether this is the regular RS7 or the RS7 Performance, which is also based on the mid-cycle facelifted version of the A7 – which this is, judging by its front fascia design.

Normally, the RS7 puts down 553 hp (560 ps) and 516 lb-ft (700 Nm) of torque, getting you to 60 mph (97 kph) in just under 4 seconds. The RS7 Performance, which uses the same 4.0-liter twin turbo V8, comes with 597 hp (605 ps) and 553 lb-ft (750 Nm) of torque. As you can imagine, it’s quicker to 60 mph, which takes just 3.6 seconds.

As impressive as all that might be, it’s still not on the same level as the 2020 BMW M5, with its 4.4-liter twin turbo V8 producing 591 hp (600 ps) and 553 lb-ft (750 nm) of torque. The numbers are nearly identical to those of the RS7 Performance (we told you they have a lot in common), but once you floor the throttle, that M5 will hit 60 mph in just 3.2 seconds, and that’s BMW being conservative.

Several independent reviewers have launched the F90 M5 to 60 mph in 2.9 and sometimes even 2.8 seconds, with quarter mile times edging into the 10-second range. On this occasion though, the M5 ran the quarter mile in 11.4 seconds, while the Audi did it in 11.7 seconds. Can’t say we didn’t see this coming.