New M5 'beats' F430...

[granville]

Apparently, the latest issue of Autocar says so...

I'm off to check this out but according to reports from the front, it's more spritely to 150 and generally likes putting chunky space between it and the Maranello Wailer.

Hell's teeth!

[Podie]

Well, I reckon in Top Trumps, the Beemer would win on the number of seats...

[jacobyte]

But there remaineth one problem... it's still a Beemer.

[maxf]

Sweet baby Jesus...

... must resisit ordering M5... must resist ordering M5...

[D_Mike]

As competent as it is, it will stille be a BMW and not a Ferrari. The Ferrari will always feel special, whereas the M5 won't.

[Podie]

D_Mike said:

As competent as it is, it will stille be a BMW and not a Ferrari. The Ferrari will always feel special, whereas the M5 won't.

I beg to differ.

The M5 is a bloody good car, and in terms of a 4 door saloon, about as good as they get in terms of a driving experience. (IMHO).

The Ferrari is a different animal... you are not comparing like with like... see the M5 for what it is.

[D_Mike]

I take your point... but the M5 is a "normal" car whereas the ferrari is a supercar (really)... The M5 is supposedly very good, but surely won't ever feel as special as a ferrari...

in drug user terms the M5 is coffee and the ferrari is cocaine (it makes people think you're a w*nker too).

[southpaw]

But Clarkson has driven both, and when he got into the F430 he admitted in the mag that he had bought the wrong car (Ford GT).

But I agree, a Fezza stands out SO much more than a BM M5

[Frik]

D_Mike said:

The M5 is supposedly very good, but surely won't ever feel as special as a ferrari...

Is that special as in "not quite screwed together properly"?

[flemke]

The 430 may be a very accomplished machine, but it's a pity they had to stick that stupid shark-nose on it.
It looked silly on the Formula One car in 1961 and it looks even sillier now.

[Zod]

southpaw said:

But I agree, a Fezza stands out SO much more than a BM M5

That is the whole point of an M5! It is a supercar dressed as a relatively ordinary 4 door saloon. For some of us, that is a large part of its appeal. It also costs half as much as an F430.

[southpaw]

Maybe its the point of the M5, and only people who have a certain "je ne sais quoi" (sp?) about cars would recognise it, but in my opinion if a car is fast/of supercar status, MAKE I LOOK LIKE ONE. Like the Zonda, CCS, MC12, Enzo, AMV8, DB9, all caterhams, or at least make it a bit more obvious - the M5's styling is very subtle and yes it rockets away in a race with some kid in his Saxo, but make it noticable in my opinion - make it the poster every 10yr old wants on his wall

[randlemarcus]

But for a fair few people, they would rather not drive something that people would have on their bedroom wall.
For some, the subtlety of something like the M5 is very appealing.
I presume it comes with a zero cost debadged option for that QCar thang...

[apache]

southpaw said:

But Clarkson has driven both, and when he got into the F430 he admitted in the mag that he had bought the wrong car (Ford GT). But I agree, a Fezza stands out SO much more than a BM M5

but isn't that the point? the fezza beats it's chest and prances about in gaudy red while the beemer, usually adorned in a colour carefully mixed to blend in with the road looks unpretentious and anonymous

[caspy]

Having seen the M5 in the flesh at Brands this weekend I have to say that at first didnt even ntice it was an M5. Just looked like another M5. The E55 is far more appropriately styled for the performance. I would just want it to look a bot more purposeful...a critism that cannot be levelled at the F430...Stunning in the flesh. IMHO

[granville]

Of course the Ferrari will always have that certain cachet but with it's new powerplant, apparently multi-layered singing voice, surefootedness and stupendous turn of speed, that the M5 - as a practical saloon car alone - might have the dynamic measure of what is currently being hailed as 'it' by many journos, is remarkable.

For half the money - I know, hardly the point but nevertheless - it is emphatically scintillating.

Btw, couldn't get a copy of Autocar anywhere!

[bruciebabe]

Never mind the 430, my Mondial T is better than any BMW. OK so the M5 has a bigger backseat and boot, more toys and better performance but it is still a maxed out German tintop whist a Ferrari is a Ferrari, the most evocative car brand in the world and the fruit of monumental motorsport success not to mention Italian artistry and passion.
Every district has it's car pose road. Ours is the Parade in Leamington. Drive down there on a sunny Saturday morning in any BMW then repeat in any Ferrari. Case closed.

[DanH]

I think this point raised by a friend, elegantly illustrates why this article is silly :

Super saloons are now as quick as exotics BUT which would you rather drive. It's like 600bhp Impreza drivers thinking they own the worlds best car...............completely missing the point that a supercar, now more than ever isn't about just performance.



(he has both on order so he's not a BMW hater)

[apache]

If you need to pose you wouldn't buy a BMW would you, if you wanted a Q car you wouldn't buy a Ferrari would you? I don't know what the argument is about, Der merely stated that a 'saloon' car is now comparable in performance to a Ferrari, he didn't comment on the knicker elastic snapping abilities of the BMW did he?

>> Edited by apache on Tuesday 7th June 10:39

[jodypress]

DanH said:

I think this point raised by a friend, elegantly illustrates why this article is silly : Super saloons are now as quick as exotics BUT which would you rather drive. It's like 600bhp Impreza drivers thinking they own the worlds best car...............completely missing the point that a supercar, now more than ever isn't about just performance. (he has both on order so he's not a BMW hater)

well said, that totally sums up the differences of these beasts.

both excel at what they were designed for.