The Bavarians over at BMW are one of the quirkiest automakers at the moment – they can give you plenty of subjects of controversy via models like the iX, XM, 7 Series, and i7, or the X7 LCI but also lots of reasons to rejoice when using their traditional performance skills.
One of the best examples where the power of oddness blends with the godsend gift of supercar-like performance is the recently introduced 2025 BMW M4 CS, which arrived with 543 horsepower, lots of CFRP, the unsightly double-coffin (or buck castor teeth) grille, a high $123,500 MSRP, traditional yellow lights, and all the well-known performance features of the G82 iteration.
But it won't be alone – soon enough, BMW will finally introduce the rumored, hyped, spied, rendered, teased, and leaked G90/91 BMW M5 sedan and M5 Touring. The ultra-good news is that both the sedan and station wagon are coming to America with the same V8 under the hood. The not-so-good news is that PHEV tech is said to add loads of heft to the setup, and the next M5 might not be as nimble as the F90 iteration.
If you need an example of how much nimbler the latter can become, here's a tuned 700-hp example playing hide and seek with a couple of cars at the local quarter-mile dragstrip. The good folks over at the racing-focused ImportRace channel on YouTube are at their usual venue - Island Dragway in Great Meadows, New Jersey, which is where they captured the sights, sounds, and (burnt-rubber) smells of this serene blue BMW M5.
It was in great company that night at Island Dragway because it got into a skirmish during the Test & Tune Day event with the definitive representative of America's sports car category – the C8 Chevrolet Corvette. Since C8 Stingray models are more common, logic dictates that this is also the case here with the all-black example in question. However, we dare say it's a Z06 by the looks of the front splitter, side intakes, and especially the mid-position of the four exhaust outlets!
Clearly, this is a skirmish for the ages and a clash of different philosophy titans – a massive executive sedan with all-wheel drive is going against a nimble 670-hp mid-engine RWD sports car. Well, according to the description, the M5 wasn't stock and instead had 700 hp under the hood. That bit of information, along with the all-wheel drive setup that allowed it to grab and hold onto the tarmac like there's no tomorrow, might explain the results.
As it turns out, on both occasions, somebody got stomped (10.65s versus 11.56s and 10.61s versus 11.35s), even as they performed the rematch properly, with switched lanes and all. However, we're not going to spoil the fun of watching and finding out for yourself who got the laurels. Also, after the C8 versus M5 skirmishes, there are two additional BMW vs BMW battles, this time against a pink one!
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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