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      08-21-2017, 01:46 PM   #62
vicslick146
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Drives: 2016 BMW M5
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: NYC

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Law View Post
One could make the same argument for individual throttle bodies and 8250 RPM redline.
Unless you're racing on a road course, ITBs and high-revs are just bragging rights, right?

I agree with the original comment to an extent.
There was something particularly special about the M-cars of yore.
In particular, the M5s of the past had concrete links to BMW's racing ventures at the time. The E28 & E34 M5s used handbuilt powerplants descended from the BMW M1 supercar. The E39 M5's engine found widespread use in motorsport racing, and the E60 M5's V10 masterpiece was a result of the trickle-down effect of BMW's participation in Formula 1.
If I wanted to give the S63 powered F10 and F90 a break, at least the M6 racecar technically uses an engine derived from the S63, so at least there's still a link.
The point is, the M5 (and M-cars in general) was always about pushing the limits of motorsport/racing technology into a sedan/saloon car. The side-effect was that you got a really fast saloon, but the DNA from motorsport came first.

Does any of that matter during the commute to work? Probably not, and that's probably why gradually M-cars are becoming more generic, because BMW knows it can get away with it.
Why spend more money and R&D if the consumer won't notice a difference and only cares about numbers?
It's the sad reality, but there's something honest and special when a BMW M product lives up to its name and heritage, even if few can appreciate it.
Absolutely.....I always loved that the M-cars were a bit Ferrari-like in that respect, the E-60s V-10 being a pinnacle of that example, and part of the reason I always thought M-5 was actually an amazing bargain....People would debate the price hike of the car but I would always be like"uh, hello.... this thing has an F-1 engine in it!" curious how old everyone is in this thread, I used to pin up Car and Driver articles of the E-39 when I was in high school but now I'm in my mid 30s now and I feel like one of those old dudes that I used to laugh at when I was younger, running around screaming "is nothing sacred anymore!?!" or "they really don't make em like they used to...". I guess the good old days were exactly that though, good and gone...

Last edited by vicslick146; 08-21-2017 at 01:54 PM..
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