Very Impressed with BMW M5
 

Today I went for a short cruise on Potrero Rd down by westlake. When entering Potrero Rd, I see a BMW on my left lane coming up pretty fast. Once it past me I noticed it was an M5 so I shifted down and caught up to him. When he saw me behind him he punched it and got a good 3 car lengths before the first turn. Entering the turn he was a little faster, then a good stretch of straight road about 1/4 mile opened up and he started to pull away realy fast about 5 car lengths. And it went like this for a good while. I never knew these cars were this fast, It even out handled me. I looked up the stats and was impressed by the numbers, 394hp, 0-60 in 4.9, and Quarter mile in 13.5 sec. Was pretty bummed that I lost throught the twisties by a 4 door sedan but, it was fun. Maybe I was slower around the corners because Im running 19's?

They don't call them the ultimate driving machines for nothing. The new ones are even faster!!

Im guessing must be the old M5 right? Coz the new ones not in the market yet.
But even the old ones are monsters.

Could be your wheel, could be you didnt push the car enough, coz the RX8 has a higher skidpad stats than an M5 both stock, so you should be able to out turn, the thing ;)

Yeah, cause with the 19's it feels realy unstable (wobbly) so Im afraid to push it realy hard through the turns.

The new 2005 M5 has 507hp with 383lbs torque v10 mounted to a 7 speed autp/manual combo. Good for 0-62 in 4.6 sec. ( very good for this heavy sedan).
Redlines at 8250 and top ends at 155 (factory limited). Interestingly BMW offers to removed this limiter as an option.

I'm not crazy about the new designs though...

http://www.rsportscars.com/foto/04/bmwm505_04.jpg

Still a bad ass car.

Yes the e39 M5 is very fast, the new e60 is a monster. However, a fugly monster IMO.

I don't think it really out handled you in the corners, you were probably just out done by its pure power advantage.

My wifes car is a 540 Sport, but I honestly enjoy driving the RX-8 more because of the way it handles. OK, it's not an M5. But I have test driven one and also an MB E55 AMG as well. Both are fantastic cars, surely in a league way above the RX-8. However, they are still big sedans compared to the feel of the RX-8.

Just a little comparo info from Road&Track:

--------------e39 M5-------RX-8

0-60______4.8 s______6.1 s
1/4 mi.____13.3 s_____14.6 s
Skidpad___.85 g_____.89 g
Slalom____66.4 mph__68.4 mph
60-0______116 ft_____110 ft

just think how much that thing must have cost and you should feel better instantly, as nice as beemers are, they are a bit proud of their product.

the e39 is arguably the greatest saloon ever produced. They have reason to be proud of their product and the cost is certainly justified. The dynamics of the E90 surpass those of the E39, but the styling is going to hold it back, although, I love it.

Agreed...but a face only a mother could love.....

Are you talking about the new 5 or the new 3? Not to nit pick but the e90 is the new 3 series, the e60 is the current (kind of new) 5.

E60 sorry :(

i don't think u would care if it's ugly or not if u OWN one of those would u now?

eh, I'd spin that kind of money on something else, still a nice car though.

The new M5 exists...I have a picture of it on my cell phone (took a picture in Glendale). You could tell it had all the black tape taken off...glue marks all over it. Its a totally different story in real life. Actually like it!

I am a big fan of the styling. It looks very agressive to me, I like the sharp lines and edges. When I see one in real life I am sure I will bust a zipper.
http://automobilemag.com/photo_galle..._m5_08_445.jpg
http://automobilemag.com/photo_galle..._m5_05_445.jpg

Hey for 80-100K the thing better hauls a$$.

Actually, I care a lot!

As my wife's car is a 540 and we're thinking of replacing it in a year or so. Had the E60 5 series been a looker, there might have been one in our garage right now. But we were both very put off by the exterior and interior design. Sure the new 545i drove better, but not enough that we could live with the looks of the car. That's what actually led us to the MB dealer next door and the test drive of the E55 AMG. Nice car, but I couldn't justify its $90K price tag.

Now if someone gave me an M5, then yes, I don't think I'd care that it's fugly (IMHO). But for my money, I'm still lusting after the new 911.

The new 911 is awesome, especially in S form. I got to drive one for about 1/2 an hour :D for the money I would much rather have it than an M5 too, but that's not really a fair comparison.

your talking about very bad, evil things here.

now the m6... thats a bigger monster ::drool::