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Precision Tuner
BMW M5 vs. Cadillac CTS-V, Mercedes-AMG E63 S, Porsche Panamera Turbo
Our test of 600-hp cars nine years ago looked very different from this one. Fenders bulged. Eight-, 10-, and 12-cylinder engines boomed. Hoods stretched to the horizon—except for that of the Italian, which carried its engine behind the cockpit. Because nine years ago, rounding up four cars with 600 horsepower meant coming face to face with rare and exotic sporting machines. We called them “the pinnacle of the automotive food chain.” They were a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, a Dodge Viper SRT10, a Lamborghini Murciélago LP640, and a Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series. It was 2009, and as the economy cratered and stiff fuel-economy mandates brewed, it was tempting to assume that the halcyon days of horsepower would soon be behind us.
It doesn’t appear as if automakers plan to cut us off anytime soon, though. When 600 horsepower seems unexceptional, you know you’re living in exceptional times. Packaged as it is for this comparison test—in four-door bodies, produced exclusively by blown V-8s, and paired with automatic transmissions—600 horsepower today looks markedly less exotic than it did back in 2009. But don’t be fooled—this much power will always blow your mind.
The BMW M5 is the newest in the set, and while it looks familiar, inside and out, it features two notable format changes: An eight-speed automatic transmission has taken over for the six-speed manual and seven-speed dual-clutch offered in the prior model, and standard all-wheel drive promises to shrink acceleration times. A rear-wheel-drive mode allows drivers to appreciate how masterfully all-wheel drive wrangles the full might of the 600-hp 4.4-liter V-8, particularly since it’s only available once stability control has been fully defeated. M5 pricing starts at $104,595 and runs $127,295 as equipped for our test, with the $4000 Executive package (soft-close doors, four-zone climate control, massaging and heated front seats, plus heated rears, among other equipment) making the M5 as lavish as it is sporting.
Cadillac’s 640-hp CTS-V is the outlier, nestling a supercharger in the valley of its V-8, where everyone else stuffs two turbochargers, and delivering torque to only the rear wheels. It’s also the value play, as it’s the sole car here that can be bought for five figures. The Caddy’s price, however, pushes to $102,935 with big-ticket options such as Recaro performance seats ($2300), the performance data and video recorder ($1600), the Luxury package ($2500), and an exterior carbon-fiber package ($6250). The price is kept in check, at least in part, because Cadillac doesn’t offer carbon-ceramic brakes, an option that costs between $8500 and $8960 on the three other cars assembled.
The body control of the BMW isn’t cinched as tightly as it is on the Cadillac or the Porsche, and that isn’t a bad thing. There’s information to be gleaned from the way the body bounds and leans: how much load individual tires are carrying and how the road camber is changing. This is the analog feedback loop that was notably absent in the sober previous M5. That car at times felt as large and aloof as a 7-series. The new one drives more like a grown-up M3.
The front buckets are seemingly infinitely adjustable and cross-country comfortable, although they sit quite high and all those motors and bladders make the seatback extra thick, which eats into the rear-seat legroom. Rich materials and impeccable build quality abound inside, although it appears that even BMW’s own designers are bored with the current long-in-the-tooth design motif. How else do you explain an infotainment system that can be controlled by waving a hand in the air? The luxury never left BMW’s M5, though. Now that the playful chassis is back in balance with a more potent engine, the M5 is again the king of the hill.
car and driver
Our test of 600-hp cars nine years ago looked very different from this one. Fenders bulged. Eight-, 10-, and 12-cylinder engines boomed. Hoods stretched to the horizon—except for that of the Italian, which carried its engine behind the cockpit. Because nine years ago, rounding up four cars with 600 horsepower meant coming face to face with rare and exotic sporting machines. We called them “the pinnacle of the automotive food chain.” They were a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, a Dodge Viper SRT10, a Lamborghini Murciélago LP640, and a Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series. It was 2009, and as the economy cratered and stiff fuel-economy mandates brewed, it was tempting to assume that the halcyon days of horsepower would soon be behind us.
It doesn’t appear as if automakers plan to cut us off anytime soon, though. When 600 horsepower seems unexceptional, you know you’re living in exceptional times. Packaged as it is for this comparison test—in four-door bodies, produced exclusively by blown V-8s, and paired with automatic transmissions—600 horsepower today looks markedly less exotic than it did back in 2009. But don’t be fooled—this much power will always blow your mind.
The BMW M5 is the newest in the set, and while it looks familiar, inside and out, it features two notable format changes: An eight-speed automatic transmission has taken over for the six-speed manual and seven-speed dual-clutch offered in the prior model, and standard all-wheel drive promises to shrink acceleration times. A rear-wheel-drive mode allows drivers to appreciate how masterfully all-wheel drive wrangles the full might of the 600-hp 4.4-liter V-8, particularly since it’s only available once stability control has been fully defeated. M5 pricing starts at $104,595 and runs $127,295 as equipped for our test, with the $4000 Executive package (soft-close doors, four-zone climate control, massaging and heated front seats, plus heated rears, among other equipment) making the M5 as lavish as it is sporting.
Cadillac’s 640-hp CTS-V is the outlier, nestling a supercharger in the valley of its V-8, where everyone else stuffs two turbochargers, and delivering torque to only the rear wheels. It’s also the value play, as it’s the sole car here that can be bought for five figures. The Caddy’s price, however, pushes to $102,935 with big-ticket options such as Recaro performance seats ($2300), the performance data and video recorder ($1600), the Luxury package ($2500), and an exterior carbon-fiber package ($6250). The price is kept in check, at least in part, because Cadillac doesn’t offer carbon-ceramic brakes, an option that costs between $8500 and $8960 on the three other cars assembled.
The body control of the BMW isn’t cinched as tightly as it is on the Cadillac or the Porsche, and that isn’t a bad thing. There’s information to be gleaned from the way the body bounds and leans: how much load individual tires are carrying and how the road camber is changing. This is the analog feedback loop that was notably absent in the sober previous M5. That car at times felt as large and aloof as a 7-series. The new one drives more like a grown-up M3.
The front buckets are seemingly infinitely adjustable and cross-country comfortable, although they sit quite high and all those motors and bladders make the seatback extra thick, which eats into the rear-seat legroom. Rich materials and impeccable build quality abound inside, although it appears that even BMW’s own designers are bored with the current long-in-the-tooth design motif. How else do you explain an infotainment system that can be controlled by waving a hand in the air? The luxury never left BMW’s M5, though. Now that the playful chassis is back in balance with a more potent engine, the M5 is again the king of the hill.
car and driver
