Vastly different takes on what a performance car is, the BMW M5 and the Audi R8 fought in a series of drag and rolling races. The super sedan in question is the now-defunct F90 generation in its Competition guise while the also-dead convertible is a Performance variant with Quattro. We saw these exact two cars earlier this year in a video from Carwow Germany and now Mat Watson from the main British channel has decided to redo the duel.
Aside from being all-wheel drive, the two cars have practically nothing else in common. Although both have automatics, the Audi R8 uses a dual-clutch, seven-speed gearbox while the BMW M5 boasts a torque-converter, eight-speed unit. Ingolstadt’s droptop supercar is considerably lighter and uses a naturally aspirated 5.2-liter V10 whereas its contender has a twin-turbo, 4.4-liter V8.
It seems highly unlikely someone will ever cross-shop these two cars but for the sake of entertainment, it’s interesting to see a sports luxury sedan battle a fully fledged supercar. The M5 F90 lost the first drag race but it’s mostly due to a poor start as the launch control system didn’t work as advertised. When the driver took control in the second race, the BMW fared much better and was the first to cross the finish line.
The third race was supposed to be the decider but the M5 jumped the start. The cars returned to their original positions for a redo, only for the BMW to jump the start yet again. In the four rolling races that followed, the F90 won three of them but some of the duels were neck and neck. The Audi had its revenge in the subsequent brake test from 100 mph by coming to a halt in a shorter distance.
While the M5 will return next year as a plug-in hybrid V8 sedan and wagon, the R8 is sadly going away without a direct replacement in sight. Audi has hinted it might bring it back one day, but only as a fully electric supercar.
Source: Carwow / YouTube
