BMW’s flagship M cars, the M5 Competition and M8 Competition, both use the same 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 as each other, a powertrain virtually unchanged from the previous F10-generation M5 and the old M6. While the current M5 and M8 Competition have 50 hp more than the old M5 Competition Package, that’s not the main reason why they are so much quicker in a straight-line.
You see, whereas the previous-generation M5 could hit 62 mph (100 km/h) in roughly 3.4 seconds, the current M5 and M8 are at least 1-second quicker and in ideal conditions, can be even more accelerative than that. This is primarily thanks to the use of an advanced all-wheel drive system that drastically improves traction off the line and results in that supercar-beating acceleration.
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However, if you turn off that all-wheel drive system and switch the M8 Competition into rear-wheel drive mode, just how capable is it?
To find out, CarWow tested an M8 Competition in RWD mode against the king of all-wheel drive hyper hatches, the Mercedes-AMG A 45 S, for a series of performance tests.
In a drag race held in damp and slippery conditions, the A 45 S sprinted ahead of the BMW as the M8 Competition struggled desperately for traction. The Mercedes crossed the quarter-mile in 12.1 seconds while the M8 Competition required 12.7 seconds. To see how much difference all-wheel drive makes, a second race was held with all-wheel drive enabled and the M8 ran the quarter-mile in a mere 11.1 seconds, a cool 1.6 seconds quicker than in two-wheel drive mode.