E60 M5 article on drive.com.au

[Randell]

article reviewing the E60 M5:
http://drive.com.au/editorial/articl...f=2&bg=19&pp=0

i just wanted to highlight the following, because it was news to me:

Launch mode accesses the Sid Vicious performance map. Dial it up, hold the SMG lever forward, apply full throttle, let the lever go and hang on. The system will give you access to launch mode only every 15 minutes or so. More frequent indulgence would possibly break the car.

In at least one case, the BMW M5 had to go home on a tow truck after a car magazine did an acceleration run in "launch mode". Only in this mode can you get near the 4.8 second 0 to 100kmh acceleration time. In normal mode, when the gearbox fidgets around, it struggles to sneak under six seconds for the 100kmh dash.
----
(100kmh = 62mph)
only every 15 mins can you experience the car's off-the-line acceleration to the full, otherwise it's about as a fast as a $A40k WRX! i know there is far more to a car than off-line acceleration, but an interesting 'limitation' (if you can call it that) of the M5.

[Interceptor]

article reviewing the E60 M5:
http://drive.com.au/editorial/articl...f=2&bg=19&pp=0

i just wanted to highlight the following, because it was news to me:

Launch mode accesses the Sid Vicious performance map. Dial it up, hold the SMG lever forward, apply full throttle, let the lever go and hang on. The system will give you access to launch mode only every 15 minutes or so. More frequent indulgence would possibly break the car.

In at least one case, the BMW M5 had to go home on a tow truck after a car magazine did an acceleration run in "launch mode". Only in this mode can you get near the 4.8 second 0 to 100kmh acceleration time. In normal mode, when the gearbox fidgets around, it struggles to sneak under six seconds for the 100kmh dash.
----
(100kmh = 62mph)
only every 15 mins can you experience the car's off-the-line acceleration to the full, otherwise it's about as a fast as a $A40k WRX! i know there is far more to a car than off-line acceleration, but an interesting 'limitation' (if you can call it that) of the M5.

E60 is a heavy car, and the displacement is the same as E39 M5, only the torque/power curve is different because of smaller displacement per cylinder, making it weaker in the lower rpm's but allowing it to achieve more power in the upper segment, sacrificing some torqueiness.

If you ask me, I would rather buy a good '02 E39 M5 due to engine durability. V10 is not well balanced like the good old V8.