Exclusive Drive: BMW M5 Safety Car

Mount Panorama. It’s a 3.9-mile circuit which is actually a public road loop in the town of Bathurst in Australia which ascends over 570 feet half way through the loop. It then descends the same height on the other side, giving one of the corners the appropriate title of “The Dipper”. You can drive it every day of the year, except for the few times when it becomes a racetrack.

Because of its length, and its altitude, cars which race around it get a real workout. But no more so than when the Bathurst 12 Hour is held. That means a full 12 hours of flat out racing around a mountain. Fun? Maybe. Gruelling? For sure. Competitive? You bet.

You may remember our own Jesse Taylor tackled the circuit briefly in the race-winning Audi R8. But this week Teamspeed has slipped behind the wheel of the Bathurst 12 Hour pace car, the German super-sedan from Munich – the BMW M5.

So, let’s get to the elephant in the room straight away – the sound. The pace car was originally fitted with an Akrapovic exhaust which opens it up and clears its throat. Brilliant. But for our drive, because it had to be street legal, the factory exhaust went back on it. Not so brilliant. Why? Well, it means a complete lack of V8 note. Like, none. BMW M3? Now there’s a glorious V8 sound. But with its twin turbos, the M5 sounds like a boxer four-cylinder. Shoot me for saying it, but it calls to mind the WRX STI. Unfortunately, the engine noise does not rise above the E60’s visceral high-revving V10. But let’s put that aside for a minute.