Back in the good old days as BMW fans call them, the M5 used to be powered by a naturally aspirated beast of an engine codenamed S85 in the engineering quarters of the company.
That car was actually the last M5 fitted with an engine that didn’t benefit from the advantages of turbocharging. The old 5-liter V10 delivered around 507 HP and 520 Nm (384 lb-ft) of torque while revving up to 8,300 RPM (sometimes more).
That meant that you could enjoy a more than broad range of revs with a pleasurable soundtrack in the back, all the way up to an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph). And back then nobody was preoccupied with the weight of the thing, like they are today.
On the dragstrip, all you had to do was make sure you don’t skid too much when launching or convince your adversary to accept a rolling start, like the man in the Porsche 911 showcased in the video below did.
Looking over the numbers, things might seem a bit in favor of the Porsche: 480 HP with more torque (620 Nm), less weight to carry around and a better 0-62 mph sprint even with the manual.
However, the race between the two turned out to be closer than expected and it could be because of the M5’s SuperSprint headers and Kelleners Sport cams... We really can’t tell.
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