Luxury and Exotic Car Reviews

McLaren W1 First Drive: Ferocious Hypercar Transcends the Track

You know things are getting serious when McLaren rolls-out the ‘1’ suffix. The origin story is, of course, the very first road car McLaren ever built, the F1. Designed by visionary Formula 1 aerodynamicist and engineer Gordon Murray, it arrived in 1992 and rendered all other supercars obsolete. The tiny, lightweight F1 embraced carbon-fibre material technology, adopted a radical centre seat driving position with two passengers set back and either side and was powered by a 6.1-litre V12 engine from BMW that might as well have been passed down directly from the Gods. Game-changer? That doesn’t even come close to describing its impact, even if at the time sales didn’t come easy… The P1 was very different. Rather than a unique side project from the Formula 1 team, it was instead a statement piece for McLaren Automotive, a new road car division still in its infancy. It arrived in 2013 and was a wild-eyed showstopper. It traded the long-legged gait and supple suspension of the F1 for a weaponized hybrid system capable of delivering 903bhp and huge blue flames from its drainpipe exhaust. In Race mode, it lowered by 2-inches and its massive concave rear wing extended into the sky. The P1 was all about aerodynamic downforce, crazed acceleration and a snorting, angry soundtrack that mixed venomous twin-turbocharged V8 with the manic whirr of electric motors. Not so much a car as a force of nature. And now there’s this: The W1. It’s a true successor to the P1 with a similar brief and, on the face of it, it evolves rather than radically reinvents McLaren’s vision for the ultimate hypercar. This is not a criticism. How could it be when the result is this dramatic and has such staggering, other-worldly potential? The W1 has 1258bhp delivered to the rear wheels. It’s capable of 0-124 mph in 5.8-seconds, the quarter mile in 9.6-seconds at 167 mph and produces 2205lbs of downforce at 174 mph. The active aerodynamics – particularly a rear wing that extends way out beyond the rear of the car – are pure performance art and deliver massive aerodynamic efficiency. The result, aside from looking extremely cool, is that the W1 is McLaren’s fastest road car around a racetrack. Ever. Their benchmark circuit is the breath-taking Handling Track at the Nardo proving ground in southern Italy, where the W1 beats their previous benchmark, the flyweight McLaren Senna, by three seconds per lap. Or “a lifetime” as they call it in racing. Maybe two lifetimes! Core to the W1’s performance is the new ‘Aerocell’ carbon fibre tub. With integrated seats and a raised footwell to allow for inboard pushrod-operated front suspension – which in turn gives air a clean path to the huge underbody diffuser – it’s light, stiff, space efficient and has been instrumental in McLaren realising a full ground-effect concept. Just like last year’s F1 cars, which were the fastest ever made. There is also an active front wing and the aforementioned complex rear wing dubbed ‘Active Long Tail’. All of which is very admirable. But the ‘anhedral’ or gullwing doors and the fantastically shirnked-wrapped feel to the minimalist, highly-focussed interior are a pretty good side effect. The W1 feels special. Those fixed seats are perhaps a shade more upright than expected, and the driving position is less obviously racecar than, for example, the Aston Martin Valhalla or Ferrari F80. However, once you’ve adjusted the pedals (they move on a slider) and the delicate, slim-rimmed and alcantara-trimmed steering wheel, there’s an overwhelming sense of purpose. The cabin is so tightly tailored and imparts a sense of lightness and agility before you so much as start the all-new 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine, which makes 916bhp all on its own and revs to 9200rpm. Reach up to a roof-mounted control panel to find the starter button. Maybe this fighter plane trope is a little corny, but somehow you feel thrilled rather than manipulated. The W1 has a sense of humour as well as all that motorsport-derived sophistication. There’s a short delay, but when the engine does fire it’s instant – as the high-powered hybrid system negates the need for an old-school starter motor. A sharp flare of revs tells you that this engine is hyper-responsive and angry. On some deep level your brain and body have been sent all the signals required to prepare for something new and intense. Ahead of us, an empty Mugello racetrack, so press and hold the blue button next to the red starter to select Race mode. The centre display graphic shows the W1’s transformation in real time as it lowers by 37mm at the front and 17mm at the rear whilst simultaneously undocking all that active aero goodness. Race mode is not road legal and is geo-locked. You can show your friends and neighbours the aero dance, but it won’t allow you to select a gear to actually drive unless you’re at a circuit. Incidentally, the rocker switches either side of the display binnacle allow further options now: Toggle up the Handling control on the left for Race+ (for F1-spec super smooth tracks) or stick to Race for gnarlier ones. On the right toggle select ‘GP’ for sustained performance over a stint or ‘Sprint’ to unleash all 1258bhp for a time attack. There’s also a DRS and Boost function on the steering wheel. But I guarantee you won’t have the mental capacity to use them… Exit the pitlane, pin the throttle and W1 takes maybe a millisecond or two to gather its might (the gearing stretches to around 60mph in first, nearly 100mph in second, primarily to aid traction), but then lunges at the first turn with incredible ferocity. It instantly feels light, almost like inertia is no longer a thing. McLaren really does prize lightweight engineering, and at 3084lbs (dry) the W1 has a 278lbs advantage over the Ferrari F80. Plus, Ferrari uses figures for cars fitted with every single carbon fibre option. In reality, the gap is probably wider still. The impression of agility and stunning control continues as the track is unravelled at startling pace. The electric motor mounted to the side of the new 8-speed dual-clutch transmission is good for 342bhp and 324lb ft and it boosts any low rev lethargy the new flat-plane crank V8 might have (spoiler alert: It doesn’t appear to have any), so the W1 just feels massively, almost impossibly powerful at any revs. Even so, there’s real reward for wringing it out to 9200rpm and the power curve feels superheated but organic, too. In Race mode the steering – still hydraulically powered – has less assistance and it is noticeably heavier than other McLarens. However, that resistance is welcome as it gives you something to push against and imparts so much information about the front grip level. New Pirelli Trofeo RS tyres with a bigger front footprint than P1 or Senna really help. The front-end feels incredibly secure and the rear-axle follows with perfectly-aligned precision. The whole car feels super-stiff, completely locked into the surface and inspires confidence, but there’s an inherent agility and adjustability that means you’re quickly confident to push at its limits and really impose yourself on the chassis. It’s such a complex car but the driving experience is intuitive, and the driver feels a key contributor rather than just amazed (or terrified) observer, holding on for dear life. Every dynamic ingredient really is shockingly effective and yet has a subtlety and lightness of touch. From that delicious steering to the incredible brakes, the W1 just feels so mission-focussed, so hooked-up. Only the new 8-speed gearbox is a slightly disappointment. It’s fast and punchy, but after the scintillating energy of the Ferrari F80 ’box it feels competent rather than inspired. Other quibbles – it’s okay to quibble when the starting price is $2.1-million before tax and destination charge. Well, that new twin-turbocharged V8 sounds tightly wound and aggressive but if you have a P1 tucked in the garage you’ll miss the snorting, Darth Vader-style soundscape and all the drama that goes with it. Ferrari does this better, too. The F80 sounds deathly dull from the outside but is a riot of turbochargers, electric motors and all sorts of mechanical fury within the cockpit. Even so, the W1 is wildly entertaining on track, and the rear-drive configuration makes it more of a challenge and more satisfying than the F80 when chasing lap times or just sliding around for fun. In the Ferrari, you must second-guess what the front e-axle might do, whereas in the W1 it’s all on you. There are plenty of tools to help, including the ingenious Variable Drift Control, but somehow the W1 is more heroic. Or at least fools you into feeling more heroic – which is surely the point! On the road? Nimble, loaded with feel and sublime response. The ride is noticeably tougher than, say, a 750S but the control is ramped-up too, and with a bit more speed the whole car finds a delicious rhythm. Sport mode for the drivetrain brings some nice turbo whooshes and chirps, but the noise remains high-quality rather than extreme excitement. It is perhaps the one area the W1 feels just a little too tame. Of course, there’s nothing tame about the raw performance… which is genuinely shocking and literally hurts your neck muscles after a few hours. How McLaren has given the W1 such immense traction through just two driven wheels is beyond me. So, is it worthy of that ‘1’? I think so. Perhaps we won’t be talking about $25-million auction results for the W1 in 30 years from now, as we are for the F1. Perhaps it doesn’t quite have the amazing presence and jaw-dropping star quality of the simply gorgeous P1. But it is such an intense experience and the way it marries stunning track performance with delicate poise and entertainment on normal roads is something akin to magic. Maybe not ‘the one’ but definitely a searing, outrageous addition to McLaren’s fiercest family line. Just 399 W1’s will be built and they’re all sold. I’m not surprised at all. View All McLarens For Sale Images: McLaren Automotive

A matte gray BMW station wagon drives on a winding road through a mountainous, rocky landscape under a clear sky—Review: 2025 BMW M5 Touring weighs in as a great allrounder for any adventure.

By Kirk Bell – July 21, 2025

Review: 2025 BMW M5 Touring Weighs In As A Great Allrounder

Most car buyers still think of wagons as boring mom machines with fake wood paneling. But to automotive enthusiasts, any performance car is cool, and a performance wagon is even better. It offers the practicality of a crossover with the handling of a car. Ideal. If you know, you know. The 2025 BMW M5 Touring is definitely an IYKYK machine, but its plug-in hybrid powertrain creates compromises. With 717 horsepower, it’s the most powerful M5 yet, but it’s also slower than the last-generation model due to a big weight increase, and it costs appreciably more as well. So, was it worth it for BMW to add a green aspect to its midsize performance machine? That’s a matter of priorities. Slower or not, the new M5 remains stunningly quick. Its twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 makes 577 horsepower and teams up with a synchronous electric motor in the eight-speed automatic transmission to produce a whopping 738 pound-feet of torque to go with its 717 horsepower. The motor aids acceleration with up to 194 horsepower and 207 pound-feet of its own, and that torque is available from a stop, so there is no noticeable turbo lag. The engine belts out a deep, rising thrum, especially with the artificial M Sound enabled. It supplies relentless neck-snapping thrust when I dig deep into the throttle. BMW quotes a 0-60 mph time of 3.5 seconds, and it feels every bit as fast as that. However, Car and Driver recorded a 2.6-second 0-60 mph time for the previous generation M5 Competition sedan, which used a 627-horsepower version of the same engine and weighed in at 4,096 pounds. The M5 Touring tips the scales at an astonishing 5,530 pounds. The powertrain’s behavior can be tailored to the driver’s taste. BMW doesn’t provide drive modes, per se, but the Setup button on the center console lets drivers program the red M1 and M2 toggles on the steering wheel and choose settings for the drivetrain, regenerative braking, transmission, suspension, steering, brakes, all-wheel-drive system, and engine sound. An M Hybrid button on the center console adjusts the hybrid system, too, offering an Electric mode, balanced hybrid assist for improved fuel economy, or dynamic hybrid assist for extra power. Thanks to a 14.8-kWh battery, Electric mode allows for 25 miles of full electric driving as long as you don’t exceed 87 mph or push the accelerator past a detent at the end of pedal travel. I recommend using the battery as often as possible for normal commuting to get the most benefit. Otherwise, the M5 Touring returns just 13 mpg in combined city and highway driving, according to the EPA. I’m averaging 13.7 mpg over 141 miles of mixed driving. The M5 mostly charges the battery on its own, either with regenerative braking or with the engine. Owners can also charge it in a few hours on a Level 2, 240-volt outlet via the 11-kW onboard charger. At 200.6 inches long on a 118.3-inch wheelbase, the M5 Touring is 3.2 inches longer than the last-generation sedan on a wheelbase that’s 0.9 inch longer — another reason it’s gained weight. For perspective, it’s almost two inches longer than the three-row Ford Explorer, and it weighs about as much as a Chevy Tahoe. But BMW does what it can to mask the weight and provide the track-ready handling M5 buyers expect. The M5 retains a double-wishbone front suspension, a five-link rear suspension, and adaptive dampers, but BMW saves weight by employing aluminum and unique sheet metal construction for the front suspension components. The toe and camber links, and the trailing arms are revised to improve dynamics, and numerous M-specific braces are employed throughout the body to increase longitudinal and torsional stiffness. This all combines with a near-perfect 50/50 front-to-rear weight balance to help the M5 Touring wear its weight well. On a twisty road, that includes a 180-degree switchback, the M5 stays planted and rotates with neutral balance. The 285/40ZR20 front and 295/35ZR21 rear Pirelli P Zero R tires provide stubborn grip, and the big body barely leans in defiance of the G forces acting upon it. When I get on the throttle a little before the apex, the standard electronically controlled rear differential lock shifts power to the outside rear wheel to help mitigate understeer and send me rocketing out of the corner. When the road gets rough, I adjust the M2 mode to choose the dampers’ Comfort setting. Even then, the ride is overly firm, which could turn off some buyers. The variable ratio steering gets quicker the farther I turn the wheel and tops out at a 14.2:1 ratio. It’s quick and direct, but like most BMWs these days, it’s light to the touch and offers little road feel through the chunky steering wheel. Standard rear-axle steering can turn the rear wheels up to 1.5 degrees opposite of the fronts, but in faster corners, it’s actually turning slightly with the fronts to provide stability. My test car wears the optional ($8,500) M Carbon ceramic brakes that save 55 pounds of unsprung weight. The massive 16.5-inch front rotors are grabbed by gold six-piston calipers, and single-piston rear calipers clamp down on 15.7-inch rear rotors. That’s a lot of braking power, but this is a lot of car. The cockpit has a sporty, extroverted look with its carbon-fiber and piano black trim and two-tone black and cherry tomato red leather that extends to the dash and doors. Technology is at the forefront, too, with a standard one-piece curved display that includes a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 14.9-inch touchscreen. When parked, owners can stream YouTube videos on the touchscreen or play games on the screen using their phones as the controller. Voice commands can be used for in-car controls, such as adjusting the seating position or setting the temperature. The front buckets are wide enough for larger drivers, and they hold me firmly in place during aggressive cornering. The second-row seats are comfortable and supportive as well, but the biggest advantage of the Touring body style is cargo space. It boasts 17.7 cubic feet of cargo room behind the second row, and that expands to a generous 57.6 cubic feet with rear seats folded down. The 2025 BMW M5 Touring is priced at $125,275, which includes a $2,600 gas-guzzler tax and an $1,175 destination fee. That tops the 2023 M5 sedan (there was no 2024 model) by more than $15,000. It’s larger than the outgoing car, and slower both in a straight line and around a track. However, with 25 miles of all-electric range, most commutes can be handled without gas. The wagon body style also gives the Touring most of the practicality of a compact crossover SUV. That all makes the 2025 BMW M5 Touring a great all-around performance car, even though you wouldn’t expect a wagon to be so quick. IYKYK. View All BMW M5s For Sale Images Source: BMW

By Gabriel Vega – September 09, 2022

2022 BMW M5 CS Review: M Performance At Its Best

Since its introduction in 1985, the BMW M5 has stepped on the toes of giants. Quicker than a supercar in a straight line and agile enough to keep up in the corners, but with enough room for a family, the M5 is a sports sedan swiss army knife. However, as the decades pass, raising that bar has required bending the laws of physics and morphing our perception of what a big-body sedan can do. With its latest attempt, BMW pushes these boundaries even further, producing the quickest and most powerful car ever. It's called the BMW M5 CS, which stands for "competition sport," and it's what you get when you take an M5 Competition, boost power, upgrade its suspension, and reduce weight. On the street, this car is nothing short of an apex predator. No Lamborghini, Ferrari, or McLaren is safe on a canyon road. After a week behind the wheel, numerous minor changes add up to a driving experience that confirms that the M5 CS is BMW M at its best. Styling/Design The "standard" BMW M5 is already a distinctive sedan with its flared wheel arches, quad exhaust tips, and aggressive body lines. The M5 CS dials things up by focusing on the details. Bronze finished details replace the typical chrome bits around the kidney grilles, side markers, and badges. These complement a set of standard 20-inch forged wheels wearing the same shade of paint. Unlike the standard car, the CS is only available in three finishes, Brands Hatch Gray Metallic, Frozen Deep Green Metallic, and Frozen Brands Hatch Gray Metallic. Our matte gray tester absorbed light beautifully, which made it a peach to photograph and allowed all of its bronze details to shine. To the untrained eye, it's just another fast BMW, but those who pause for a closer look can quickly tell they're looking at the special one. The M5 CS isn't just marginally lighter than an M5 Competition. Its 230-lb diet is significant. This is mainly due to the extensive use of carbon fiber reinforced plastic. Large items such as the hood, front splitter, rear diffuser, and roof feature the material utilizing a mixture of the body color and unpainted carbon fiber. Alone the changes are small, but together they add up to significant weight savings. In front, the headlight design remains the same. However, the CS gets LEDs that feature yellow accents during the day and switch to white at night. While BMW cites these lights as "racing-inspired," their true benefit is how well they match up with the car's plentiful bronze accent pieces. You'd be wrong if you thought BMW was done adding bronze pieces. That's because the quad-exhaust setup also features the color and genuinely shines in the sunlight. BMW could've easily slapped a CS badge on a normal-looking M5, but their extensive changes add up to a sports sedan that looks truly unique. Performance/Handling While the BMW M5 CS is a lovely thing to look at, it's far better to drive. As mentioned in the intro, it's the brand's quickest and most powerful production vehicle ever. Its twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 delivers a supercar-slaying 627 horsepower and 553 foot-pounds of torque. It puts that power down to all four wheels via an eight-speed Steptronic transmission and a rear-biased AWD system. As it fully uses its output, it sprints to 60 mph in 2.9 seconds and continues onto a top speed of 190 mph. The CS feels even quicker on the road than its stats suggest. Peak torque comes at a very low 1,800 rpm, allowing you to rocket out of corners and instantly pick up the pace on the open road. Turbo lag remains virtually nonexistent as the M5's engine remains eager to rev. As you work your way up the RPMs, those quad exhaust tips start to sing their guttural, although thanks to over insulation, most of what you get inside the cabin comes through the car's speakers. In 4WD Sport mode, the M5 CS sends most of its power to the rear wheels with minimal to the front. The grip is immense. Unlike some of its closest competitors, it doesn't default to understeer as you test its limits. Switch over to 2WD, and all power goes to its back wheels, allowing the rear to rotate when provoked. Our tester benefitted by not having the optional Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires, which have historically needed quite a significant pace to get up to temperature. Instead, it wore a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4S shoes that delivered all the on-road drivability and grip required for a quick canyon drive. Aside from just clinging on for dear life, the M5 CS remained totally planted and neutral as we chucked it into corners. Despite tipping the scales at 4,114 lb, body roll was virtually nonexistent. BMW's main improvements for the CS include 10 percent stiffer springs, 0.2-in lower ride height, increased front negative camber, and firmer anti-roll bar and toe link ball-joint mounts. The result is a car has incredible front-end agility. Point and the CS will follow. However, like many modern sports sedans, this is a double-edged sword. The M5 CS is a massively capable machine, but it's a victim of its success. It's so easy to drive at brain-melting speeds that there isn't much driver involvement. Sure its steering is heavy, but it doesn't communicate much, and with Mercedes S-Class levels of sound isolation, there isn't much natural sound for your ears either. You don't wrestle this car around corners. You're more so along for the ride. Thankfully, when it's time to stop, the M5 CS serves up tons of stopping power from its standard carbon ceramic brakes. They may take a bit to warm up, but once they're up to temperature, there's a solid initial bite that doesn't let up. Thanks to generous pedal travel, they're easy to modulate as well. Even around town, they don't prove too eager to stop. Despite their high performance, they're more than up to daily duties. So far, the M5 CS has proven a capable canyon carver, but it hasn't forgotten its luxury sedan nature. Around Los Angeles, even its stiffened suspension soaked up bumps, well, all things considered. Perhaps even better than the X4 M Competition we tested a few months ago. Leave it in its normal mode, and this large executive supercar hunter is equally happy on a drive to the office as it is up in the canyons. Interior/Tech Inside, the BMW M5 CS sets itself apart as it's the only model variant to feature four bucket seats. Although you lose one seat in the second row, all your passengers will remain in place as you pick up the pace. Surprisingly, even these aggressive chairs proved more comfortable in the CS than in the M4 Competition we tested a few weeks ago. The larger door opening makes ingress and egress old-folk-friendly. While they're still stiff as rocks, they're tolerable for a quick daily drive. Just like with the exterior finish, the CS' cabin features few available options. All cars feature a combination of black leather and Alcantara with contrasting red accents. Like the exterior, there's plenty of carbon fiber reinforced plastic in the dashboard, center console, door cards, and on the seats themselves. At no point does the CS let you forget you sprung for the special model, a major upside considering its price tag. More on that later. The rest of the cabin is standard M5. You get the same digital instrument cluster, infotainment screen, and smartphone connectivity (Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.) Since the base car nails these basics and build quality is on par for the segment, there's not much to report here. If anything, we wish BMW had taken a Porsche 911 R approach and removed sound deadening to increase driver involvement. For those looking for a purely luxurious experience, there's the standard M5, but this is the CS. Let it have its own personality. Pricing The 2022 BMW M5 CS has a base price of $142,00 plus $995 for destination charges. However, they're limited to one model year, and they're all sold as the model year comes to a close. According to BMW, there isn't a limited number of these cars out there, so we'll have to wait and see just how many they actually produced. Given the limited amount of available options, our tester has an as-tested price of $148,995. Closing Thoughts The more miles we racked up on our M5 CS tester, the clearer it was just how much of an engineering achievement it was. As a sports sedan, it is a master class on how to build a capable supercar slayer. It's quick, composed, and outrageously easy to drive. It is a genuine canyon carver despite its size and weight. The CS is light on its feet in ways its competitors aren't. However, as a driving experience, the M5 CS isn't as electrifying as we had hoped. Given its clever suspension updates and extensive use of lightweight materials, we really expected this car to set our hair on fire. All things considered, though, the M5 CS achieves precisely what it sets out to do, deliver tons of performance for the price with on-road capabilities that'll leave exotic car buyers wondering why they spent so much just to see the CS' tail lights. See All BMW M5s For Sale

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