Now watch this," grins Tom Purves, chief executive of BMW North America–who is doubling as my driver for the next 30 minutes. Purves is demonstrating BMW's latest mechanical marvel, the 500-horsepower M5 sedan, on the winding back roads of northern New Jersey, near BMW's U.S. headquarters. And he's in an impish mood.
"I'm not going to tell you what I'm about to do," he warns. Then, on a clear straightaway, he abruptly swerves left, then right. "Feel it?" he asks, laughing. Indeed I do. The M5's "multifunction" seat, sensing the car's lateral movement, has reached up to secure first my right flank, and then my left, so I am not tossed about by Purves's abrupt driving. I giggle back. Never has a seat been so accommodating.
Driving the $82,000 M5, a luxury liner that happens to be faster than a Porsche 911, is one of those experiences that can only leave one gushing. And having such an expert guide aboard is not your ordinary option. As we zoom beneath the autumn trees, Purves explains a suite of features that could bamboozle an engineer. For ordinary driving, you can dial back the engine to a modest 400 horsepower. Need to outrun a missile, just bump it back up to 500. And if you're bringing the car to Indy, select 500 with sport settings that, among other things, turn off the traction control so that no computer interferes with the driver's intentions.
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