What happens when two big German luxury performance sedans compete in drag and rolling races?
Sedans aren’t exactly popular these days, but that doesn’t stop BMW and Mercedes from making flagship performance sedans. Both the BMW M5 and Mercedes-AMG E 63 have recently come out with their extreme performance versions, those being the M5 Competition and E 63 S, so it’s time to see how the two stack up.
Carwow did their thing and brought both the Competition and E 63 S to an airstrip for a battery of tests. First came the standard drag race to see which car could accelerate from a standstill and beat the other in a quarter-mile race.
The M5 Competition comes with a 4.4-L twin-turbo V8 producing 617 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque. Zero to sixty is done in just 3.3 seconds on its way to a top speed of 190 mph. Power is routed to all wheels thanks to an 8-speed automatic transmission, and the whole thing weighs in at just under 4,100 lbs.
The Mercedes-AMG E 63 S has a similar 4.0-L twin-turbo V8 producing 603 hp and a whopping 627 lb-ft of torque. Zero to sixty is done in 3.4 seconds, top speed is 190 mph, and all-wheels are powered by a 9-speed automatic transmission.
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The only real difference between the cars is weight, which the M5 enjoys a 400 lb advantage on the E 63.
In the drag race, the BMW’s lighter weight and slightly better start helped it to achieve a quarter-mile time of 11.1 seconds compared to the E 63’s 11.3 seconds. However, our host notes that the cars were so close that the winner is really determined by whoever gets the better start.
Things are a little different in the rolling race where the E 63’s superior torque and mid-range power helped it outrun the BMW. But the brake test went back to the bimmer by stopping half a car length ahead of the E 63.
Although the BMW won the overall competition, which car you choose is really a matter of personal preference.
NEXT: WATCH A SLEW OF SUPERCARS TAKE ON EACH OTHER IN EPIC DRAG RACE