BMW M5 Competition (F90)

A car can sit only 249th out of 600 for top speed yet still reach 100 km/h faster than 446 of those same cars. That apparent contradiction is the key to understanding the BMW M5 Competition (F90). Rather than chasing a headline maximum, it concentrates its effort where performance is experienced most often. The result is a machine that reaches 100 km/h in 3.3 seconds, placing it 154th in the catalogue, while its 305 km/h top speed settles further down the order. The numbers point to an engineering priority that favours relentless acceleration over an isolated peak figure.

That approach is reinforced throughout the specification. A turbocharged 4.4 litre V8 produces 617 bhp and 750 Nm, enough to place this car 178th for power across the entire collection, comfortably inside the top 30 percent. Power alone, however, never tells the whole story. Only 216 of the 600 cars here use a V8, 74 combine that layout with all wheel drive, and just 16 pair a turbocharged V8 with AWD. That combination is the distinguishing feature. It is not simply another powerful saloon, but one of a relatively small group in the catalogue that blends this specific engine configuration with driven wheels at every corner.

Its position on the value scale is equally revealing. A used price of £75,000 ranks 359th, making it more expensive than 241 cars in the collection, while each horsepower effectively costs £122. That places serious performance within reach of a broader section of the catalogue than the acceleration figures alone might suggest. The four or five seat saloon body also means those numbers are delivered without abandoning everyday practicality, an argument supported by the choice of AWD rather than by any single headline statistic.

Germany contributes 197 of the 600 cars in the catalogue, and BMW accounts for 48 of them, yet this particular entry still occupies its own space through the rare pairing of turbocharged V8 power and all wheel drive. Without it, a dream garage loses a distinct interpretation of speed, one that values immediate response over chasing the highest terminal number. With it, the collection gains a car that broadens its character, reminding you that the quickest journey through the catalogue is not always defined by the fastest finish, but by how decisively a car covers the ground before it gets there.