OT:E60 M5 driving impression
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OT:E60 M5 driving impression
On Christmas day I met up with my brother, and some of you guys that know me personally have seen his '04 760il. He swapped cars for 2 days with a friend that wanted the plush, roomy 760 for a small road trip with the family. Meanwhile he left his 2 week old 2006 M5 with 900 miles on the odometer with my brother.
It rained pretty hard all day around here, which sucked because I was eager to get out there and at the very least ride in the thing. At about 11:00 PM the rain had subsided and we went out. The floor was still damp, but the M5 behaved as if we were on dry pavement the whole time.
After a half hour or so, my brother reluctantly let me jump behind the wheel. Making statements like, "be careful, this ain't no f*ck*n Honda or GTI" blah blah blah.
He has a real "rich guy" attitude and wouldn't be caught dead driving the cars I own, even though he's 3 years younger than me, and he used my 5.0 to take his road test back in the mid 90's when all he had was a bus pass. It's funny how times have changed...
I started out by playing around with the SMG paddles. But I quickly realized it would be easier to get familiar with the car in "D". The truth is, that unless you're on a road course, there is really no need to paddle shift the car. In automatic mode the car absolutely reads your mind just by throttle input, and delivers far more speed than the average driver can handle in the blink of an eye.
Needless to say, it was a wet dream to rip around the highways of the NYC metro area at 1AM with little or no traffic around. Damp pavement only reinforced the M5's stature as the "ultimate driving machine". The car was totally unflapable, stiff, yet compliant enough on rough urban roads. I had most of my fun in a straight line that night, cruising at 70 mph simply sink the go pedal and your one wicked downshift away from lightspeed. The V10 zings to it's 8K+ rpm redline effortlessly and does so without a hint of vibration or harshness. You're able to set the shift point on the tranny for WOT upshifts, you know where I had it set to
The power, the sound, and, the feel of this well planted 4 door supercar is intoxicating to say the least. I burned though 3/4 of a tank of gas in less than 2 hours. The soundtrack is American Muscle, the dynamics of the car are all //M.
Having driven previous gen M5's and the current 545/550i I have to say the the new M5 is in a league of it's own. I was dead set on the latest E55, but compared to the the M5 the E55 feels, isolated and heavy in a way that //M cars never do.
Only now BMW has finally matched/surpassed AMG's straightline thrust with a naturally aspirated V10 (S65/CL65/SL65 not withstanding) in a package that is more geared towards drivers.
I went home that night and layed in bed with an ear to ear grin for at least an hour. I woke up the next day with some serious M5 withdrawals. Inspired only to work harder with hopes of someday owning a machine of that caliber.
Modified by H-PIMP at 1:49 AM 12/28/2005
It rained pretty hard all day around here, which sucked because I was eager to get out there and at the very least ride in the thing. At about 11:00 PM the rain had subsided and we went out. The floor was still damp, but the M5 behaved as if we were on dry pavement the whole time.
After a half hour or so, my brother reluctantly let me jump behind the wheel. Making statements like, "be careful, this ain't no f*ck*n Honda or GTI" blah blah blah.
He has a real "rich guy" attitude and wouldn't be caught dead driving the cars I own, even though he's 3 years younger than me, and he used my 5.0 to take his road test back in the mid 90's when all he had was a bus pass. It's funny how times have changed...
I started out by playing around with the SMG paddles. But I quickly realized it would be easier to get familiar with the car in "D". The truth is, that unless you're on a road course, there is really no need to paddle shift the car. In automatic mode the car absolutely reads your mind just by throttle input, and delivers far more speed than the average driver can handle in the blink of an eye.
Needless to say, it was a wet dream to rip around the highways of the NYC metro area at 1AM with little or no traffic around. Damp pavement only reinforced the M5's stature as the "ultimate driving machine". The car was totally unflapable, stiff, yet compliant enough on rough urban roads. I had most of my fun in a straight line that night, cruising at 70 mph simply sink the go pedal and your one wicked downshift away from lightspeed. The V10 zings to it's 8K+ rpm redline effortlessly and does so without a hint of vibration or harshness. You're able to set the shift point on the tranny for WOT upshifts, you know where I had it set to
The power, the sound, and, the feel of this well planted 4 door supercar is intoxicating to say the least. I burned though 3/4 of a tank of gas in less than 2 hours. The soundtrack is American Muscle, the dynamics of the car are all //M.
Having driven previous gen M5's and the current 545/550i I have to say the the new M5 is in a league of it's own. I was dead set on the latest E55, but compared to the the M5 the E55 feels, isolated and heavy in a way that //M cars never do.
Only now BMW has finally matched/surpassed AMG's straightline thrust with a naturally aspirated V10 (S65/CL65/SL65 not withstanding) in a package that is more geared towards drivers.
I went home that night and layed in bed with an ear to ear grin for at least an hour. I woke up the next day with some serious M5 withdrawals. Inspired only to work harder with hopes of someday owning a machine of that caliber.
Modified by H-PIMP at 1:49 AM 12/28/2005
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Re: OT:E60 M5 driving impression (H-PIMP)
Nice write up man. I wanted an E39 M5 and was very close to getting one. Only swayed away because it was older than what I ended up getting. I don't regret it one bit though. I ******* love my car. I love everything about it. The next car I get will probably be an M5. The E39's were my favorite and alway's will be. I used to own a 528i. I am not exactly a fan of BMW's but god I loved that car. http://www.tunerzine.com/artic....html 
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Re: OT:E60 M5 driving impression (H-PIMP)
Nice write up. What are the spec for the motor? I know very little about BMW's besides the fact that they are very comfortable. When did BMW do the upgrade to the V10 motor? Correct me if i'm wrong, the M5 was using a V8 with 4**hp. Sorry for the Noob ?'s. Glad to see you enjoyed the M5 joy ride. Would have been pimp to see pics.
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Re: OT:E60 M5 driving impression (CWTegRNo.160)
The previous gen M5 '00-'03 had a 400hp 4.9 litre V8 with a six speed manual only, no SMG available.
The new '06+ M5 has a 500hp V10 available only with a 7spd SMG tranny.
The new '06+ M5 has a 500hp V10 available only with a 7spd SMG tranny.
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Re: OT:E60 M5 driving impression (H-PIMP)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by H-PIMP »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The previous gen M5 '00-'03 had a 400hp 4.9 litre V8 with a six speed manual only, no SMG available.
The new '06+ M5 has a 500hp V10 available only with a 7spd SMG tranny.</TD></TR></TABLE>
It was a 3.97something litre V8 I believe.
5.0 litre V10 on the new one :-) Oh I love this car so much.
The new '06+ M5 has a 500hp V10 available only with a 7spd SMG tranny.</TD></TR></TABLE>
It was a 3.97something litre V8 I believe.
5.0 litre V10 on the new one :-) Oh I love this car so much.
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From: Warning, gRand Return imminent,, NY, USA
Re: OT:E60 M5 driving impression (Bbasso)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bbasso »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ya should have called me </TD></TR></TABLE>
Yup, I need some speed. I got the itis and it's gonna put me baqck in debt if it's not remedied soon.
Yup, I need some speed. I got the itis and it's gonna put me baqck in debt if it's not remedied soon.
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From: Scary NorthEast, usa
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From: Warning, gRand Return imminent,, NY, USA
Re: Fifth Gear - F1 vs BMW M5 (machgo5go)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by machgo5go »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Video yada dada</TD></TR></TABLE>
So, what are you trying to say?
So, what are you trying to say?
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