Rick's Picks: Test-driving BMW M5--and the CEO
Until, that is, the driving gets aggressive. Purves glides up to an intersection and cautions that "we've got to watch out around here–the police are around." This, it turns out, is the very place he got his one-and-only speeding ticket, while taking a new BMW motorcycle for a spin. Then we ease onto a bucolic country road with no traffic. Purves hits the afterburner button, engaging 500-horsepower mode, and in seconds we are traveling at a multiple of the speed limit. Purves, a natty Brit trimmed out in a gray double-breasted suit, cuff links, and a pink tie, looks as relaxed as if he's sitting in church. I glance at the speedometer and wince. The multifunction seats, sensing some serious g's, reach up to grab me at every quiver of the steering wheel.
Finally we pull over, and it's my turn. Through the whole demonstration it's been raining hard, and eager to stay on the hardtop, I scale back to 400 horsepower. Within moments I feel remarkably confident, even though I'm on curvy, unfamiliar roads slicked over like a ski pad, with enough power at my disposal to mow down half a forest if I get crosswise with the pavement. The M5 holds every curve with ease, and I push a little harder. Then we come upon a straightaway. Feeling cocky now, I stop, turn it back up to 500 horsepower, and gas it until I can feel my cheekbones being sucked into the back seat. Purves says nothing. But he looks proud.
One last test: the brakes, an area where serious cars completely outshine the flashy imitators. I tell my copilot what I want to do.
"Go ahead," he encourages me. So I race up to warp speed and jam the brakes to the floor. There's no skid, no squeal, no smoke. The M5 decelerates in a nearly straight line, and seems to stop just a few yards from where I initiated the procedure. I glance over to see if Purves is anxious about how I'm treating his car. He is unperturbed. In fact, he explains, that was a relatively soft stop compared with the track conditions the M5 is built for. Good, I say. Let's try it again.
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