Taking a look back at some of the best engines BMW ever made, one cannot overlook the brilliant S85 5-liter V10. It was a piece of engineering brilliance and was brought to life thanks to the efforts BMW put into competing in Formula 1. Revving up to nearly 9,000 RPM, the S85 turned cars like the BMW E63 M6 and E60 M5 into legends.
Stumbling upon this drag race between the E63 M6 and a Porsche 911 Turbo stirred up some memories from back when BMWs were still powered by naturally aspirated engines that sounded as if they came down straight from a gearhead’s Nirvana.
The M6 is probably the best example of such a great car and the fact that it goes up against a turbocharged car on the drag strip shows that atmospheric engines could hang with the best forced induction mills out there. The 997 Turbo is also nothing to scoff at as it used to be a proper supercar back in the day.
Powered by a force-fed 3.8-liter 6-cylinder engine, it makes 500 HP and 650 Nm (479 lb-ft) of torque. Couple that with its 1.6-ton weight and all-wheel drive and you get a 0-60 sprint of under 3.5 seconds. Could the M6 keep up? Well, the 507 HP of the V10 would help even if the torque numbers are drastically lower at 520 Nm (384 lb-ft).
The uploader claims the M6 was tuned, but doesn’t offer any details as to what was changed. Considering the engine under the hood and the fact that no turbocharger or supercharger whine is audible in the video, we’re guessing the upgrades were limited to a new intake and exhaust, and that probably didn’t get the HP count over 550 HP at most.
It’s a great showdown, nonetheless.
