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AUTO REVIEW

2019 BMW M5

By Stephen Schutz, MD

Are we finally in an age when sedans can provide supercar per- under 700HP on a dynamometer.)
formance? Yes, and you could argue we’ve been there for several It’s a cliche to say, “I hit the gas and when I looked down I was
years. In fact, we are entering a time when SUVs can provide su- going 80MPH.” But when I did just that on a quiet stretch of
percar performance, as the introduction last year of a Lamborgh- highway and looked down, I was doing 125MPH. Seriously, this
ini SUV and my recent experience with a Mercedes AMG SUV car is fast.
remind me. It’s a BMW, so naturally the new M5 handles well too. Autobahn
Nevertheless, spending a week with the new 2019 BMW M5 speeds on a straight road are no sweat, naturally, but the newest
was a revelation. It’s so fast that superlatives describing how rapid (F90) is more nimble than the last generation (F10) was. The F10
this super sedan is pale in comparison with the actual experience was criticized by some for putting straight line performance ahead
of driving the car. The M5 is rated at 600HP, but that’s not reality. of cornering, and BMW addressed those concerns with suspen-
German automotive manufacturers are famous for understating sion changes that make the F90 feel lighter than its 4,288 lbs curb
their horsepower figures, and, while I’m not going to lie and tell weight would make you believe. This car loves the open road and
you I can accurately gauge the power in the cars I drive, the M5 high speed turns the most, but it does almost as well as the F80
has a HUGE amount of oomph when you hit the throttle. (For M3 on tight B-roads, which is saying something.
the record, thedrive.com reported that a 2019 M5 produced just Some of the credit for the blazing 2.8 second 0-60MPH time

44 San Antonio Medicine • January 2019