Best of M? BMW's mighty M5CStested on Germanroads

Best of M?

BMW's mighty M5 CS tested on German roads

No matter whetheryou are fourwheeled, two-wheeled, oreven three-wheeled minded, enthusiasts share similar thoughts when itcomes tobucket-list drives around theworld.

Sitting pretty high on this list for most would be crossing the Alps between Italy and Germany, as notonly are the views breathtaking, but theroads areboth challenging andrewarding. Whentaking on an epic drive like this, it deserves an epiccar,and we werelucky enoughto get behind the wheel of BMW’sveryexclusive M5 CS.

Though BMW New Zealandstated that orders were openback when the M5CSwas firstannounced, it’s still unclear if any actually landed locally. Add in thefactthat itsold out in

Australia within 72 hours witha $270,000 price tag attached, andyou startto get afeelfor the magnitude of thiscar.

Like theCSmodels that came before it, the M5works with the tried and truerecipe ofremovingweight, and adding power.InCS form, the twin-turbo 4.4-litre V8 was tunedto pump out anextra 7kW bringing peak figures to467kW and 750Nm. Through thegenerous use ofcarbon fibre, 70kg wasdroppedover an M5 Competition, meaning that itnow tips the scalesatjust over 1.8-tonnes.

Asyou can imagine, losingweight and adding power to a car that’s alreadya roadgoingrocketonly made thingseven wilder, as thisCSwill hit 100km/h froma standingstart in just 3 seconds flat before topping outat 305km/h.

Not too long ago,that sort of performance was exclusivelyreserved for supercars, and not full-sizedfamily-friendly sedans. On that topic, theCSisexclusively available ina four-seat configuration, as therearrow consistsofa pair of bucketseats that notonly lookfantastic, butcompliment the hardcore carbon-clad bucketsup front nicely. On theroad, this M5 CSis nothing short ofa modern marvel. But before we dive into what makes thiscar agood performance car, Iwanttotalk about one element that makes ita greatperformance car; also beinga regular5 Series.

If the ‘M’ buttons are leftalone, and everythingstays in comfort mode,you’d have a hard time picking theCSfroma regular 5-Series ona road trip. The ride isextremely supple, theroadnoise is almost non-existent, and the power train is smooth as butter.Witha caras comfortable as this,you’d almost forget why you spentover $270K ona 5 Series; but that's before youdive into the drive modes.

Like M5s that have come before it,thisCS turns into a different animal entirely once the M buttons are configured. The suspension sharpens up, the engine growlsferociously, and the automatic transmission managestomimic a dual-clutch unit with how sharp the shifts get.

Even though the M5CSisexclusively available with an all-wheel drive system, this doesn’t mean that itcan’t be therear-drive M car whenyou want itto. Pressing the DSC button enables the ‘M Dynamic Mode’ traction system which sendsa decent amount oftorque totherearwheelsfor someoversteering fun. If thisstill isn’t enough, there’s alsoa 2WD drive mode which will send all 750Nm through the rear wheels, butyou’regoingtoneed somevery fasthandsfor this.

Despite itssize, the M5CSfeltextremely agileover theStelvioPass. Ifyou’ve ever crossed thispass,you’ll be aware of the tricky 1st gear hairpins that can bog down even the most agile performance cars.Even though the CSneededtobe chopped right downto get out of thesecorners in boost,the low torque surge means that the V8 avoids thispainful bog. The CSreallycame into itsown through the flowing turns further down thepass, where the V8could reallystretch its legs. With incredibly accurate steering anda predictable chassis on the limit, it’s hard to wipe the smile offyourfacewhilst pushing it through the turns.

Though the smell of brakeswas very much in the airbythe timewehit the bottom of the pass, theCSis offered asstandard with Carbon Ceramics, sowehad fullfaith in thesestoppers.

Atits heart, the M5 has always been a high-speed cruiser, and I’d argue that this is where theCSis most at home.A section of de-restricted Autobahnwas allweneededto find out that itwould hit 300km/h incomfort mode without breakinga sweat. Thoughwe didn’t quite gettoits 305km/htop speed, itfelt incredibly planted, andwould likely do it all day – if youcan afford the fuel bill that is.

Asa whole, this M5CSfeels like avery specialcar;something that pushes the boundaries of what afull-sized sedancan do.In a mythologicalworld where choosing between M cars wasa realityfor me, I’d probablygofor this M5CSover an M3 or M4 – an opinion that I never thought I’d hold.

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