Nowadays, 500 hp barely gets you into the performance car club. We’re in the days of 500 hp Camaros, Alfa Romeos and Cadillacs. So it’s not the stratospheric figure it used to be. However, it still costs a decently pretty penny to get into that 500 hp club. To be honest, there are only a handful of cars under six-figures that make that sort of power. One of the cheapest ways to get above the 500 hp mark is to buy a BMW X5 M, even though it isn’t very cheap.
Starting life at $100,700, the BMW X5 M, with its 570 hp 4.4 liter twin-turbo ,V8 is just a tick over the six-figure mark. While that’s expensive, it’s nowhere near as costly as 500 hp used to be. Consider the fact that a decade ago, the Ferrari F430 cost $167,000 (about $208,000 today) and only had 483 hp. That puts into perspective how much easier it is to break the magical 500 hp figure today and makes the X5 M seem like a damn good deal.
Now, don’t just look at the price-per-horsepower figure, as there are actually better deals in that regard. The Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, Chevy Camaro ZL1 and Mercedes-AMG C63 S make over 500 hp and cost less than $75,000. However, the X5 M does so while having all-wheel drive, seating for five adults comfortably and a large trunk. So not only can it get from 0-60 mph in about 4 seconds, just a half a rick slower than the aforementioned Ferrari, but it can haul a family, too. That makes the BMW X5 M a bona fide performance bargain.
Many BMW purists will complain that the BMW X5 M is too big, too fat and too heavy to be a proper M car. But it really is hard to hate on a car that can take your family on vacation while also embarrassing most sports cars along the way. Its breathe of abilities is immensely impressive and it allows customers to get into a genuine luxury SUV and the 500 hp club simultaneously. So not only is it crazy fast but its customers don’t have to suffer a comfort penalty. It’s one of the cars that proves we really are in the golden era of the performance automobile.
[Source: Road & Track]
