Autocar UK brings us a video review of the all-new 2012 BMW M5. Before we jump into the video review, here is a short excerpt from our own on-track drive.
Lap of Ascari.
As we cross the painted line relieving us of the pit lane speed limit, I stab the throttle to test for grip and put some heat in the rear tires. Already deep into the V8′s plateau of torque, the rear tires immediately light up and dispatch us up the access road merging with the track. A glimpse in the rear view mirror reveals a handful of bystanders still gawking at the back end of the M5; the flag marshal is covering his ears seen through a thin fog of smoke.
Already revving through third gear we are now braking downhill to the first corner, a 90′ left. The M5 feels incredibly stable despite the steep drop of the track; I expected the rear end to feel more nervous under hard braking here. Gradually releasing the brakes as I continue to slow for the apex, the car remains stable. Back on the throttle, the car pushes wide to corner exit, and still carrying left steering lock, we enter turn two.
Passing the apex of turn two, a much wider radius left hander, I feed the power in, again feeling for grip as weight transfers rearward and the car pushes wide. The throttle provides incredible feel and response for a force-fed engine: as the tires squirm under acceleration I can feather the throttle to keep the tail from rotating and maintain a clean line.”
You can read our track report on the M5 here.
