Scare The Sh*t Out of You Hyper Sedans - BMW M5 vs Mercedes E63 S AMG

2014 BMW M5 Competition 
Built for Speed and Comfort 

It is fitting this halloween week that we bring you a comparison between two scary sedans. The 2014 BMW M5 and the 2014 E63 AMG Mercedes are both wolves in sheep's clothing and make a strong case for being the ultimate daily drivers. With insane power, lots of options and luxury, they are perfect for terrifying your kids when you drive them to school. 

For 2014, BMW is making subtle yet significant changes to the M5. The 2014 M5 gets new front and rear bumpers, a new grille, with full LED headlights and revised rear lights. The interior receives new three-spoke steering wheel—the same that’s found in the M6—which replaces the previous, slightly bloated one. Finally, there are a bunch of new safety features like  upgraded lane-departure- and collision-mitigation systems, pedestrian recognition, and a new high-beam assistant.

Great, all the boring stuff is out of the way. What we care about it the new Competition package. This package increases horsepower from 560hp to 575hp and improves 0-60 time by a tenth of a second. That means this family rocket now hit 60 in a super-territory 4.1 seconds. Transmissions choices continue to be the amazing six-speed manual or the telepathic seven-speed dual-clutch automatic which is best in class. 

The Competition package also adds a revised, stiffer suspension with stronger stabilizers; and revised M-spec rear differential. The hydraulic power steering is more direct than on the standard M5. And the M Dynamic mode, which can be pre-selected by the driver, is even more aggressively tuned with this package. Carbon-ceramic brakes, which provide the ultimate edge in performance, remain optional.

2014 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG S-Model 4Matic
Subtle Styling with Smack You in the Mouth Potency

Let's get the big news out immediately. For 2014, the E63 has been completely face-lifted and given a new mandatory all-wheel drive. Yes, all-wheel drive, we were disappointed too. The previous E63 was a hairy beast, a dragster hidden in a sedan's body, complete with smoking rear tires and an amazing V8 soundtrack. We loved it here at Rev to the Limit, so the thought of all wheel drive makes us very uneasy.

If going quickly is the the goal, the newest E63 AMG definitely delivers. The "base" model rips to 60 mph in a claimed 3.6 seconds—0.6 second less than the old rear-drive model. The S-Model gets the E63's twin-turbo 5.5-liter V8 is boosted to 577 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque and that knocks another tenth off the trip to 60. That's an astonishing 0.2 second faster than what Mercedes claims for its SLS AMG supercar. More important, the S-Model comes with a limited-slip rear differential and the ability to order carbon-ceramic brakes. Both are a wise move considering the firepower under the bonnet.

AMG's all-wheel-drive system has been completely revised for this car, and sends a third of the engine's power to the front. Combined with revised suspension kinematics, the change helps keep understeer at bay. There's no torque-vectoring trickery here, so the E63 hasn't turned into an all-neutral, all-the-time handler like the Nissan GT-R, but it can at least be coaxed into a slide, especially in slippery conditions. And man, does it ever explode off an apex. The steering is quick and the engine is a torque-filled delight. The seven-speed automatic is the weak link, with occasionally missed and lazy shifts. But boy oh boy is it smooth.

Overall the new E63 AMG Mercedes is now less muscle car now, more high-speed missile. Lunatics and hooligans will have to stick with the rear-drive C63 AMG; E-Class AMG drivers will have to learn to live with more speed. Which is probably what they wanted in the first place.

Motor Trend Comparison
BMW M5 vs Mercedes E63AMG S Head to Head

Since we don't have big budgets here at Rev to the Limit we have to rely on the big-gun magazines and shows to do our testing for us. Luckily for us the folks at Motor Trend recently compared these two amazing machines. On this episode of Head 2 Head Jonny Lieberman gets down and dirty with these two extremely potent hyper sedans.  Between the two of them, these two mighty Germans produce 1152 horsepower and 1092 pound-feet of torque. On paper. 

After a day of horsing around/testing Shaffer and Lieberman grow suspicious of each twin-turbo V-8's actual output. So, they take them to the dyno gurus at K&N engineering to learn what's what. The results very well may shock and amaze you. However, the boys come to the conclusion that numbers are only exactly that: only numbers, and numbers only matter so much. One true test of a super sedan is how it handles a twisting stretch of tarmac. The other is how much you yearn for the car after you've walked away from it. How much the keys itch in your pocket. While the results are definitive, this Head 2 Head is much closer than most. Have a watch!