Summer Stunners: BMW M5 and Lexus LC500

A reimagined BMW M5 and the Lexus LC500 establish new flagships for their brands.

By Isaac Bouchard

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2018 BMW M5

EPA ratings: 15/21mpg; 17mpg combined

0-60mph: 2.8sec

Price as tested: $129,795

For those of us who came of age before 1990, the original BMW M5 was an object of lust. It was the ultimate Q-Ship: a vehicle that was far more ferocious than it looked, all while being refined and practical. The third generation, labeled E39, was considered the apogee of M5-ness, as its successors lacked its special blend of luxury and interaction.

That is, until now.

Responding to the demands of ever burgeon-ing power and market forces, BMW’s M Division added AWD to the new F90 series, making it a much more usable alternative to an SUV. Additionally, the M5 can now truly harness the rampaging horses that used to only be corralled by intrusive stability control. Those 600 steeds can still be channeled to just the rear tires, allowing the inexperienced to spin off the road backwards and the adroit to vaporize expensive tire rubber at a rapid rate.

In reality, the deft combination of the M XDrive all-wheel drive, beefed up eight-speed gearbox and M Active limited slip differential allow for the safest forms of fun, including 0-60mph runs that take a mere 2.8 seconds. The 553lb-ft of torque from the S63 V8 only flow to the front wheels when needed, so the M5 feels like a well-sorted rear driver; just when it seems like almost 4,300 pounds of sliding, six-figure insurance claim might get out of hand, power is shuffled forwards, helping pull the BMW straight and making mere mortals feel heroic.

This super sedan also stops as it should; the standard steel binders are excellent, and carbons (which also reduce unsprung mass) are optional. All the electrons controlling this ballet route through one computer network, reducing wiring and helping save precious weight.

Indeed, this M5 comes in almost 150 pounds less than its predecessor, thanks to a structure combined of ultrahigh strength steel, aluminum and carbon fiber. Luxury and refinement are better now too; these may be the most comfortable and supportive seats BMW has ever put in an M car, and they also can be equipped with ventilation and massage. The interior they inhabit is fitting to the mission and price point, with subtle wavelike flows of French stitching that help soften the rigid linearity of previous Bavarian cockpits.

Tech is first rate, with fast responses, beautiful graphics and voice control that actually works. Level 2 autonomous systems function so well that one might actually still look forward to driving the M5 when our roads inevitably get even more crowded with disinterested drivers.

But it’s when they clear the road that the M5 really shows the ways in which it’s regained its place atop the podium as a driver’s car. The steering now has a modicum of feedback and the balance is tweakable to one’s skill level and desire for slip angle.

It really rewards good inputs: ham-fisted ones lead to tire-scrubbing understeer, but proper trailbraking rotates its prodigious mass nicely and allows the throttle to be applied early. Boost hits before you’ve passed corner apex and the BMW rockets forwards, with the wide rear tires smearing a path across the road in beautifully subtle four-wheel drifts.

Subtle describes the styling too, and that’s a good thing. With its badges removed and painted a dark color, most would guess it is just any other 5-series.

This intoxicating combination of epic performance, daily usability—the back seats even fold—and fly-under-the-radar looks are what make this latest version a worthy successor to those inspiring first three generations.

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2018 LEXUS LC500

EPA ratings: 16/26mpg; 19mpg combined

0-60mph: 4.5sec

Price as tested: $105,170

Lexus bills the LC500 as a grand tourer in the classic sense: comfortable, cossetting, isolated and refined. It is certainly all those things. And while it pampers occupants, it also has a wild side that illustrates just how far they’ve come in terms of dynamics and driver rewards.

One’s first glimpse of this stunning coupe on the road creates a kind of cognitive dissonance: Isn’t it a concept car? The tapering greenhouse, wasp waist, meticulous detailing and even the sometimes-controversial spindle grill all cohere magnificently—it simply doesn’t look like it should be sharing parking lots with more pedestrian hardware.

How something so audacious reached production is a story in itself, but the LC500 follows in the footsteps of the original Lexus SC, which pushed all manner of styling and engineering boundaries when it debuted in 1991. Back then it was how to make a nose so rounded in plan view; now it is how to lower the hoodline for runway model looks yet retain wheel travel apropos a luxury car.

An all-new, rear drive platform accomplishes this. It’s built, like the BMW, using a cocktail of high strength steel, aluminum and carbon fiber. The 5-liter, normally aspirated engine is set back behind the front wheel’s centerline, making it technically a mid-engine machine. An in-house, 10-speed automatic is an engineering tour de force as well, and channels the LC500’s 471hp through an optional limited slip diff. Four wheel steering is optional, and helps gift this large, heavy (4,300-plus pounds) two door with reflexes that belie its heft.

Steering is superbly weighted, linear and ac-curate; body control exemplary. We got a taste what Lexus could do in the LFA supercar and latest GS F sedans, but here it is operating on an even higher level. The brakes are strong enough for road use, and this gearbox’s programming overcomes the slow responses of prior efforts from Lexus. The engine sounds glorious, with a resonant intake bellow as the revs climb to their 7,100rpm power peak.

But the combination of Colorado’s thin air and no turbos means the LC500 feels relatively unresponsive at lower revs. While max torque of 398lb-ft isn’t shabby, it isn’t arrived at until 4,800rpm, meaning you’ve got to work a bit to make this roll-ing sculpture hustle. Offsetting this is a linearity of throttle response and acoustics that most boosted engines cannot match.

This is where the LC500’s dynamic excellence makes it easy to start comparing it to sports cars, which isn’t really fair. As a GT it is surely fast enough. And when viewed as such, the glories of its luscious bodywork and equally captivating cockpit come to the fore. Hand stitching, stunning natural materials and original architecture make it feel oh so special. The one fly in the ointment is Lexus’ continuing reliance on a distracting trackpad-based infotainment interface. Otherwise the ergonomics and execution are first rate, with supportive, beautifully trimmed seats and door panels, and the theater created by the sliding tachometer/speedometer bezel all enriching the experience.

It is as such a holistic experience that the LC500 succeeds so brilliantly. It serves as a clear reminder of the joys of the journey, of what makes cars—as opposed to SUVs and crossovers—so desirable. It also puts to rest any lingering doubts that Lexus is not a first tier builder of true driver’s machinery.

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Colorado AvidGolfer is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it, publishing eight issues annually and proudly delivering daily content via coloradoavidgolfer.com.

Contact Isaac Bouchard for help saving time, money and hassle when buying or leasing one at [email protected]

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