BMW M5 Competition Drag Races Tuned M5, Outcome is Predictable

Top Gear's Rory Reid lined up the M5 Competition against an M5 that's been modified by a company called DMS. The car with more power is always going to win, right? Well, we've seen a lot of Russian drag races where the mods actually made them slower. Sure, you can increase the turbo boost, but in many cases, the factory settings are optimal for quickly generating boost.

An M5 Competition puts out 625 HP and 750 Nm (553 lb-ft) of torque. Meanwhile, the M5 by DMS is rated at 784 HP (774bhp) and 880 Nm (649 lb-ft) of twisting force. That's about 160 HP and 130 Nm more. We're doing the math because, as usual, Top Gear gets it a bit wrong. Rory claims the M5 DMS makes 740bhp, but then suggests it has "about 150" over the Competition. And somehow, one car is 10kg lighter. Perhaps the driver skipped breakfast that day. Of course, the power war would be meaningless without BMW's trick new xDrive system making full use of the V8 grunt.

In this situation, the stock M5 gets a slightly better launch. But is it enough to keep its more powerful rival at arm's length? No, it isn't. So with about GBP 3,000 in engine software upgrades, you too could have the quickest BMW on the block. Let's just hope this doesn't result in a check engine light popping up on your dashboard.

We're impressed with the DMS package, considering it finished three cars lengths ahead, even though it had a bad start. But in case you're wondering if a stock M5 is bad, check out this slightly older drag race, where it goes up against the Honda NSX supercar.