These two cars have been endlessly compared since they’ve been out and they’re going to be compared some more. The new F90-gen BMW M5 and the Mercedes-AMG E63 S are the best performance sedans on the planet and there’s no two ways about it. But which one of them is best? That’s been the question so far and Top Gear decided they’d find out. On ice…

In this latest drag race, we see both of these two massive German luxury missiles lineup up against each other on snow and ice to see which is the faster all-wheel drive machine. Before the race, though, let’s take a look at both cars.

The BMW M5 uses a 4.4 liter twin-turbocharged V8 that makes 600 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque. That engine is paired with an eight-speed auto and all-wheel drive. Obviously, the car in this test is running on winter tires. While the Mercedes-AMG E63 S sports a 4.0 liter twin-turbocharged V8 that makes 602 hp and 627 lb-ft of torque, which is paired with a nine-speed automatic and all-wheel drive.

Both cars have the ability to switch their front driveshafts off and become completely rear-driven and both cars are capable of 0-60 mph in the low three-second range, with the M5 being capable of doing it in under three seconds in the right conditions. But which one is faster in heaps of ice?

The race honestly comes down to two things: tires and grip. We don’t know what sort of tires each cars has so we’re going to just assume that they’re the same. So it really only comes down to which all-wheel drive system can provide the most grip.

At the start of the race, both cars get very sideways and lose traction completely. However, the BMW M5 is the first to gain traction and it wins the race pretty easily. In fact, it was ahead of the AMG from the beginning, even if it was also getting sideways. This test is useless but a lot of fun and it actually shows how impressive the new M5’s xDrive system is. So if you live in snowy climates, you know that an M5 will still be able to be fun in the snow.

[Source: Top Gear]