Audi R8 Spyder V10 vs. BMW M5 Competition: Quarter-Mile Justice Is Blind and Swift

At least, this is one quirky conclusion we can draw from the video below, featuring a family sedan and a two-seater supercar that have a 1,320-foot-long strip of concrete to share. Apparently, one-quarter of a statute mile isn’t big enough for these two German egos, so one must leave.

But neither is willing to give up without a fight – this is the perfect storm that triggers a drag race of all-wheel-drive proportions. The main characters in this bout are a BMW M5 Competition and an equally competitive Audi R8 Spyder. The show-down takes place at an airfield in the U.K., as we can plainly deduct from the license plate of the Audi and the steering wheel arrangement of the M5.

Sharing over 1,200 horsepower between them, the mutually hating duo of fast German automobiles have their sleeves rolled up. Since neither can hide any aces, they go all-in in this winner-takes-it-all stake face-off.

The race is staged by the German edition of carwow’s YouTube channel, with host Daniel Hohmeyer behind the wheel of the Bimmer. With 617 hp on tap and 533 lb-ft of G-force-braving torque (625 PS / 750 Nm), the most powerful M5 to date – bar it’s CS twin that joined the Armageddon Army – is a twin-turbo extermination-on-wheels.

Thanks to a 4.4-liter V8 and an eight-speed automatic (that shifts in 150 milliseconds), the most powerful letter in the alphabet can kill the stopwatch faster than the driver can say `Bayerische Motoren Werke.` in metric, that’s 3.3 seconds in which the M5 Competition reaches 62 mph (100 kph) from a standstill.

And it can keep on pulling all the way to 189 mph (305 kph). Remember that this is a car in which one can fit three child seats in the back and an infant carrier next to the driver (and their corresponding luggage in the trunk).

The rowdy M5 comes at a price, and it ain’t cheap: 131,600€ in it’s native continent market. But that’s almost half as much as the less powerful, less spacious, less heavy Audi R8 that challenges the Bimmer for quarter-mile supremacy. The Dark Lord of the Four Rings sports a price tag that reads 228,500€ on the far side of the Atlantic (as seen from the Land of the Free).

The R8 has a detachable roof, two parallel seats in front of the engine, and a lot of confidence. The Lamborghini-borrowed powerplant is good for 612 hp and a measly 428 naturally-aspirated lb-ft (620 PS, 580 Nm). The dual-clutch transmission is one cog short of the BMW’s, with only seven speeds to go ahead.

The Audi weighs nearly 375 lbs (170 kg) less than the BMW (3,737 lbs/1,695 kg vs. 4,32 lbs/1,865 kg), so the 5-hp difference is as about as relevant as cargo space in this quarter-mile-measured performance.

But don’t judge a book by its engine cover because the M5 isn’t fed with unicorn milk and gingerbread. When properly tuned, it shoots off the line, leaving the Audi to gaze at its black-white-and-blue rear badge.

The best score achieved by the embers-fed BMW M5 Competition is a 10.7-second sprint, with the Audi in hot pursuit, crossing the line just two-tenths later at 10.9 seconds. When correctly tuned, the sedan shoots off the line like a rattlesnake going in for the kill. The R8 Spyder may have Lambo DNA, but it can’t put up a fight.

The victory is complete when the 100-to-0 mph brake test (161-0 kph) is over, with the lighter, smaller convertible stopping two full car lengths ahead of the voluminous family car. (Although this could be debatable if the M5 has the carbon-ceramic brakes equipped – a detail that isn’t disclosed).

With 625 hp, the BMW M5 Competition is one of the fastest BMWs of all time! But does he have a chance against the Audi R8 Spyder V10 Performance? The 620 hp Audi has all-wheel drive, like the M5. However, it is lighter! Drag Race: BMW M5 Competition vs. Audi R8 Spyder V10 Performance.