It’s safe to say that BMW’s current car lineup isn’t short of performance-oriented options. Of course, in this case, we’re looking at two of Munich’s heavy hitters, going by the name of BMW M5 Competition and BMW M8 Competition.
Both cars are responses to the competition, especially the one coming from Affalterbach: the M5 is BMW M’s response to the Mercedes-AMG E 63, while the M8 comes to do battle against the Mercedes-AMG S 63. But what if the two Bavarians fought against each other?
What do we call this, then? Bavarian Fratricide?
It’s not often that we get to see two cars of basically the same ilk and brand taking it out in a drag race. Courtesy of Carwow’s Mat Watson, though, we get the rare chance of seeing how the M5 fares against the M8.
Now, they both wear the Competition badge and while one’s a sedan and the other a coupé, they’re both powered by a 4.4-liter turbocharged V-8 bolted to an eight-speed M Steptronic automatic transmission that also offers a launch control feature.
Both cars churn out 617 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque, but the M8 is 0.1 seconds quicker to 60 mph from a standstill, as it can pull off the sprint in three seconds flat, while the M5 needs 3.1 seconds. On top of that, the top speed rating is identical for both BMWs: 156 mph.
Care to know, therefore, how can the M8 be just a tiny tad quicker? Simple: that’s a matter of weight. The M8 tips the scales at 4,295 pounds, while the M5 comes in at 4,370 pounds. So there’s a high chance that the 75-pound gap between these two dictates which one’s quicker off the line. Weight distribution is also different: 52.9%-47.1% front-rear for the M8, and 54.7%-45.3% front-rear for the M5.
That said, keep in mind that the 10-minute video below also includes some tire-warming drifting, a rolling race, and a brake test, besides the compulsory drag race. In our book, the perfect way to make your commute seem shorter.