Photo: Road&track
The Competition Package BMW launched for its refreshed M5 last year turned out to be exactly what the car needed to rise to the top once again.
The first ever turbocharged M5 didn’t receive too many ‘flattering’ reviews from the get go, some journalists claiming that the car simply wasn’t lively enough to make it a good successor to the brilliant E60 model before it that had a naturally aspirated 5-liter V10 engine under the bonnet working on borrowed technology from the Formula 1 Williams team.
Sure, that car was crazy with plenty of power and torque and a sound that would raise the dead but times are changing and so is the technology we’re using today.
Turbocharging was the normal response to an ever worrying issue. The new M5 however, wasn’t criticized for its engine but mostly for its lack of feedback and weight. With the ZCP it’s a whole new story.
The Competition Package brings a revised differential at the back, new suspension tuning, a new software for the gearbox and 15 extra HP alongside a wider plateau for the torque. If the original 560 HP and 680 Nm (501 lb-ft) of torque were enough to make you skid all the time, imagine how the improved model is. That’s right, even crazier!
Road & Track pitted one such M5 against its main rivals out there: the Jaguar XFR-S, Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG S 4Matic, Porsche Panamera Turbo and Audi RS7. If you think the Audi doesn’t belong here, you’re right. Its rival is the M6 Gran Coupe, not the M5.
Even so, the Bimmer turned out victorious but not because of its brilliance but rather because of its flaws. You see, the guys make a pretty good point in saying that such a car, with so much power and torque underneath, ‘a supercar in disguise’ is supposed to be handful to keep in check.
That’s what makes it visceral and entertaining. It’s not supposed to be perfect, exact and deliver the best possible performance all the time, like a Swiss watch or a high precision computer. It’s supposed to make you feel alive and aloof when you want to and out of the bunch, the M5 was the only one capable of such a thing.
On the backroads you’d have to hold on for dear life at high speeds while on the drag strip you’d be going through tires like a fat kid through cake! Unlike all those all-wheel-drive rivals out there that were as precise as a sniper’s bullet, making you feel trapped behind a computer that was doing all the work for you.
Bottom line is, the M5 Competition Package is the best super sedan you can get, hands down, and the brilliance of it lays in its faults.
Sure, that car was crazy with plenty of power and torque and a sound that would raise the dead but times are changing and so is the technology we’re using today.
Turbocharging was the normal response to an ever worrying issue. The new M5 however, wasn’t criticized for its engine but mostly for its lack of feedback and weight. With the ZCP it’s a whole new story.
The Competition Package brings a revised differential at the back, new suspension tuning, a new software for the gearbox and 15 extra HP alongside a wider plateau for the torque. If the original 560 HP and 680 Nm (501 lb-ft) of torque were enough to make you skid all the time, imagine how the improved model is. That’s right, even crazier!
Road & Track pitted one such M5 against its main rivals out there: the Jaguar XFR-S, Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG S 4Matic, Porsche Panamera Turbo and Audi RS7. If you think the Audi doesn’t belong here, you’re right. Its rival is the M6 Gran Coupe, not the M5.
Even so, the Bimmer turned out victorious but not because of its brilliance but rather because of its flaws. You see, the guys make a pretty good point in saying that such a car, with so much power and torque underneath, ‘a supercar in disguise’ is supposed to be handful to keep in check.
That’s what makes it visceral and entertaining. It’s not supposed to be perfect, exact and deliver the best possible performance all the time, like a Swiss watch or a high precision computer. It’s supposed to make you feel alive and aloof when you want to and out of the bunch, the M5 was the only one capable of such a thing.
On the backroads you’d have to hold on for dear life at high speeds while on the drag strip you’d be going through tires like a fat kid through cake! Unlike all those all-wheel-drive rivals out there that were as precise as a sniper’s bullet, making you feel trapped behind a computer that was doing all the work for you.
Bottom line is, the M5 Competition Package is the best super sedan you can get, hands down, and the brilliance of it lays in its faults.
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