Arguably, the best driving road in the world can be found in Romania — the Transfagarasan Highway. The 90 kilometre serpentine stretch of tarmac that snakes through the Carpathian mountains is not only the most incredible collection of fantastic corners but it slices through breathtaking mountain scenery. It might not be as pretty as the Stelvio but, if you like driving, it’s arguably the better driving road. In these new photos, we can see a BMW M5 Competition knife its way through those corners with all of its 617 horsepower, twin-turbocharged V8 might.
Admittedly for a road like the Transfagarasan, you might want a smaller, lighter, less powerful car than the M5. Visions of overcooking a high-altitude corner with no barriers in a 600-plus horsepower, 4,000 lb sedan are giving me the willies. However, the BMW M5 Competition is an astonishingly capable car, so it should be able to tackle Romania’s greatest road with ease.
The specific car in these photos is seen wearing a Snapper Rocks Blue paint job and it adds a vibrancy to the brown and orange scenery. The blue cuts through the sepia toned background beautifully and makes for some epic shots. It doesn’t have the beauty of a supercar but the F90 BMW M5 is a handsome car and its paint adds a necessary splash of color.
In a famous Top Gear episode, the three hosts drive the Transfagarasan in three different high-powered convertible supercars; the Aston Martin DBS Volante, Ferrari California and Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder. Because of that famous episode, most enthusiasts have visions of driving drop-top supercars up and down the now-iconic mountain pass. While those cars might be more fun, the BMW M5, with its tenacious all-wheel drive grip and clever electronic stability systems will likely be the more capable, safer and more comfortable car to do it in.
[Photos: @todorov5 @didoriginal @com5ition]
