Quote:
Originally Posted by Law
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.
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I just hope this torque converter nonsense doesn't come down to M2s and M3s. The future is bleak though as we've already allowed that AMG imitation on M5 and gave 'em excuse to drop DCT "because the torque is too much."