mild thunder

A blower would be great, but not in the budget right now. However, after reading articles of new GT's with a few mods like the CAI, gears, tuner, etc and getting in the high 12's is impressive. My Gt is an Auto, which may help VS the BMW 7 speed with the paddle shift. As long as I can stay with him from 0- 100mph ill be happy! I know after that its all over.

im just tired of hearing about how advanced his M5 is and how it eats vettes, and handles better than anything on the street. Im not to hip on the new car mods, as I am used to the old days of huge cams, big cubic inches, and carburetors!

Apoptosis

Whats 5,000 to wipe the smug smile off a rich family member [:@]

Apoptosis

A lot of ricers say the same thing lmao.

Faster than a Vette, and better around corners than a Porche... Heard it all before... Drop 2-3 grand into your stang and you *probably* stay with him tell 100.

cfr865

Get some gears, cai. good tune (Brenspeed) 100 shot Nos. Drag radials, some practice and you will take him unless he happens to be a professional driver and you are really bad. I agree the s/c would be the sure thing but the above is alot cheaper.

Trepidation

a supercharger will not help you aginst the new m5 the new m5 is absolutly the best 4 door car on the market performence wise it will eat most stock cars on the street and some modded cars. what makes the m5 so fast is that the gear ratios in the 7 spd are so close the car never gets out of its power band and also the computer shift the trans before you can relese the paddle. twin turbo your car up grade to a 6 spd and you might stand a better chance.

Supernaut

His M5 costs $80,000+, so he has about $55,000 on you, or 320%. It's an absurd argument. For his money you could by three GTs. The whole point of the Mustang is bang for the buck and personal potential. It's a solid platform on which to build. If he insists on busting your *****, ask him if his car is 320% faster. Give $80k to Livernois and you could do donuts around his M5. Besides, with the exchange rate and shipping charges, he burned about $20k just getting the car here. Admire him for his sacrifice.

Sherwood06GT

No way a Mustang is going to come close to the performance of this magnificent machine, even with a blower! Read this, but remember, we didn't spend 80-100 k for our ride. Reality is what it is. I am happy with my Black Stallion 'cause I'm not in the financial league to buy one of those.

Road Test: First Drive Test
Go to Road Test Index | About Our Road Tests

First Drive: 2006 BMW M5
Worth the Premium

By D. John Booth and Scott Oldham
Date posted: 11-11-2005

The ad reads: 2006 BMW M5, Black/Black or Silver/Black. October/November Delivery. All Options. Best Offer Over Cost. (800) OVER-PAY

We may have faked the phone number, but this exact classified did appear in a popular print periodical, and it wasn't the only one.

Another ad read: 2006 BMW M5, Loaded, October Build, Red with Tan Leather, MSRP Plus $5K.

Looks like the new 2006 M5, which is just now rolling into U.S. dealerships, is the latest markup darling of the auto market. The fourth generation of BMW's super sedan has been on sale in Europe for about a year, so America's wealthy car nuts have had to wait, and that pent-up anticipation is driving up prices. Despite the M5's $81,895 base price, which includes a steep $3,700 gas-guzzler tax, it appears that buying one for that price is impossible. At least for awhile.

Usually when this happens, we say wait, don't be a fool, save your pennies. But not this time. The 2006 M5 is so good, we say break the bank and pay whatever it takes to get one as soon as possible. Sell your kids into servitude if you have to, just get one. Trust us when we tell you, the first time you take it to redline in all seven of its forward gears you'll forget what it cost you.

Until then, take the ride with us.

400 or 500 hp, You Choose
Mat the M5's gas pedal and all hell breaks loose as 400 horsepower are transferred to the tarmac by the computer-controlled manual clutch Sequential Manual Gearbox. Keep the throttle pinned and the tires squeal, as the big 5.0-liter V10 spins to its 8,250-rpm redline faster than my G4 laptop can type the words.

Flick the steering-wheel-mounted upshift paddle for 2nd and the 285/35ZR19 rear tires chirp under the strain of all that power. Split-seconds later, you're doing the same thing for 3rd and the tires still can't hold traction, squealing once again as the all-aluminum V10 sings its post-6,000-rpm Formula One wail. A mile later the car has already reached its 155-mph speed governor.

Cripes, this thing is fast and we haven't even hit the button. The one that makes the M5 feel as if it's grown a turbocharger. You see, when the V10 is first fired up, it defaults to its 400-hp mode, a figure not coincidentally identical to the maximum output of the outgoing M5's 5.0-liter V8. And since the two cars weigh virtually the same, it means the new V10 M5 in its economy mode is as quick as the old V8 was at full speed.

The button is located just forward of the gearshift lever, push it and the V10's 10 individual throttle butterflies completely open (the reduced power mode restricts them to about 90 percent) unleashing another 100 hp. Now you've got 500 hp peaking at 7,750 rpm and 383 lb-ft of torque at 6,100 rpm to play with. Which is enough for that V10 to kick you in the pants so hard it makes that last top-speed run seem like a Sunday hop to your favorite bar for wine-soaked steaks and a side of couscous.

Incredible Civility
If the engine is a leap forward, the M5's chassis is more evolutionary. The basic setup and dimensions remain true to the 5 Series with identical measurements for the front and rear track and wheelbase.

Of course, the magic of BMW's M cars has always been their massive performance accompanied by incredible civility. "The M5 is as comfortable going to Trader Joe's as it is lapping a racetrack," says Dave Buchko BMW's product communications manager.

He's right, it is. Were it not for its stiffer ride and the SMG tranny the M5 could be a garden-variety 5 Series. Electronic Damper Control lets the driver choose between three suspension settings — Comfort, Normal and Sport. Although it's firm, the Comfort mode is surprisingly compliant for a car of such massive abilities, swallowing all but the harshest bumps. In Sport, things stiffen up to the point of uncomfortable, but there's precious little body roll and more immediate turn-in.

That said, despite the claimed 50/50 weight distribution, the M5 will understeer — especially when pushed through low-speed corners. Mind you, that's at lateral G-force levels that would challenge a Corvette. And oversteer, of course, is but a quick stab of the throttle and the V10's 500 tire-shredding stallions away. Don't worry, lifetime roadside assistance for tires is included in the price of the car.

Power to Stop, Too
The M5's brakes don't seem to need any such special treatment, though surprisingly, the front calipers only have two pistons rather than the de-rigueur-for-a-sports-car four. But the front discs measure a massive 14.7 inches in diameter and provide more than enough leverage to speedily get the 4,012-pound über-sedan down from its top speed.

As usual, the M5's Dynamic Stability Control, which is standard, can be deactivated by the driver. Plus, the M5's DSC system has a third mode called M Dynamic Mode, which allows more oversteer and wheelspin but will kick in before things get completely out of hand.

DSC also works with the brakes in two ways. The first is called Brake Standby. In anticipation of hard braking, it moves the brake pads closer to the rotors if the driver lifts off the throttle abruptly. The other is called Brake Drying. Acting upon input from the windshield wipers' rain sensor, the brake pads periodically engage the rotors just enough to eliminate any film of water, but not enough to cause any brake application.

Look, Mom, No Torque Converter
Much improved over the previous such transmission used in the M3, and newly fortified with seven forward gears, the SMG transmission is now finally ready for prime time. Shifts are fairly smooth, and their speed and force can be adjusted among six programs with a console-mounted button. In the "softest and slowest" setting, it could be the transmission in a luxury car. In the "hardest and quickest" setting, the gear changes happen with all the subtlety of Jeff Gordon charging out of the pits at the Daytona 500.

In the SMG's automatic mode, shifts also feel more sophisticated than in previous versions. There's not as much gap between upshifts and less hunting for gears. This is especially true in the Sport mode. Nonetheless, you still can fool its computer occasionally, and a foot full of throttle is greeted by a delay while the M5 searches for the appropriate gear. It matters not a whit, of course, when you're going for it. Being able to get instantaneous gear changes with the flick of a paddle is worth the trade-off. Plus, it matches revs on every gear change with the precision of Juan Pablo Montoya.

A six-speed manual will become available next fall, but it will be exclusive to the U.S. market. BMW expects to sell 2,000 M5s a year in America, about 50 percent of those with the manual gearbox. For now the sedan body style is it, but Mercedes-Benz does offer its E55 AMG as a sedan and a wagon, so an M5 wagon may be in the cards. "We're looking at doing a wagon, but nothing is confirmed," is all Buchko would say.

Out to Launch
The only mechanical difference between the European-spec M5 and the one sold in America is the elimination of the SMG's Launch mode. At least, that's the only difference BMW will admit to. Although Launch mode does make it easier to blow off that Camaro from a stoplight, and it is similar to the system used in BMW's F1 racers, you won't miss it. Even without Launch mode, BMW says the M5 will hit 60 mph in 4.5 seconds.

But what do you

GT Premi

I'm guessing this is going to be an all out street race. I wouldn't do 4.10s because they're gonna hurt you up top. Stick with 3.73s and do the CAI + tune, aluminum driveshaft, lightweight clutch and flywheel, electric water pump, and possibly subframe connectors. That should get you to run w/ him at least to 100 or 110.

BTW, I forgot to say that the M5 (or M3, for that matter) isn't the be-all-end-all for performance. If you look objectively at their performance numbers, a Mustang can definitely be made to beat them.

Sherwood06GT

No way you are going to keep with him, with only small mods like that. Read the above article. He has 400 hp right off the bat, with another 100 hp at the flick of a switch, and he is in the power band at all times with the 7 speed. He will rip any stock or moderately modded Mustang with liesure. Until you can deliver well over 500 rwhp he will smoke you. That's what you can get for 80+ k!!!

GT Premi

Remember, the M5 weighs a good 500 - 600 pounds more than the Mustang. And it's not even putting 500HP to the wheels, so why would the Mustang have to?