2023 BMW M8

[MUSIC PLAYING] CLINT SIMONE: Welcome to Edmunds U-Drags. Last year, we saw the Shelby GT500 take down the BMW M4 competition. But now, the Germans are back. And because you asked for it, we have the much more powerful BMW M8 competition. This time around, will it be Munich or Merica? What is U-Drags? I'm so glad you asked. It's a race to there and back. At Edmunds, we love to test cars. And we came up with this not so scientific test that we call U-Drags. We're going to take these two cars, send them all the way down the track, where they're going to get hard on the brakes, turn around, and come back. That means, we're getting a quarter mile hard braking, handling, and a rolling start, all in one. And after the first race, we're going to swap drivers and lanes to make sure everybody gets a fair shot. Today's test pilots are Reese. REESE COUNTS: We'll see how it goes. CLINT SIMONE: And Kurt. KURT NIEBUHR: This is going to be a good race. CLINT SIMONE: This race is going to be brutal. First up is the Shelby GT500. Pretty classic formula, long hood with a big supercharged engine underneath. This one making 760 horsepower and 625 pounds feet of torque. Then there's the BMW M8 competition. This is no slouch, with a twin turbo V8, making 617 horses, and 553 pounds feet of torque. Everybody loves U-Drags. If you want to see more of them, like this video, and subscribe to the Edmunds YouTube channel. And if you're looking to your car, head over to edmunds.com/sellmycar. [MUSIC PLAYING] REESE COUNTS: All right. The Shelby GT500, the fastest, most powerful Mustang. And this is Edmunds long-termer. We've spent a lot of time in it. So I'm going to use the launch control. Switch the mode to track, adjust the stability control, put the car in drive, pull the brake, hold the gas until I get the launch control notification. I've set the RPM. We're going to use 1,200. So we'll see if I need a little more revs, but I want to get this thing off the line as quick as possible. KURT NIEBUHR: This is going to be a tough one. I got a lot of power. I got all wheel drive. In order to harness the all wheel drive to its maximum potential, I have to put it in launch control, get it in the right M-Mode, turn the DSC completely off. Make sure you're in first gear. It shows up up here. You've got the hardest level shifting. There are three bars alongside it. This is the most aggressive, quickest shifts. Left foot on the brake, right foot on the gas. I'm flustered. The thing has 760 horsepower. And then you'll see a little sign pop up. This is going to be a good race. No room for error. That means you too, dude. [MUSIC PLAYING] SPEAKER: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. - Got it. Oh. KURT NIEBUHR: All wheel drive is going to saved my ass today. Breaks are getting really hot. REESE COUNTS: Come on. Come on. [MUSIC PLAYING] That M8 looked good. I just wish I wasn't looking at it. KURT NIEBUHR: So fast. So fast. That was a pretty even jump, but this thing just still-- just gets away. REESE COUNTS: I felt like I was coming up on you towards the end of the quarter. I just couldn't get turned around fast enough. KURT NIEBUHR: You might have been. I was just I was so focused ahead, and just tried to take one quick look in the mirror to make sure you weren't too close. But after a while, there's nothing I can do. I mean, I'm holding my foot on the floor, and shifting at red lines. So yeah. REESE COUNTS: Yeah, I'm happy that the transmission in the Shelby will automatically shift for you when you get out of launch control. That's one thing I don't like about the BMW. When we're in a straight up run like this, I'd rather just let the computer handle it. KURT NIEBUHR: I love how early you can get on the power in this car. It's right away. And you can just keep your foot on the floor. REESE COUNTS: So that's the thing. I still have to be a little ginger with it, until I get the wheel straightened out. Sounds good, though. I don't really hear anything else while we're moving. KURT NIEBUHR: You don't have to hear anything else. That's just great. You don't have to have a radio in that car. You don't have to have a passenger. It's just sounds beautiful. REESE COUNTS: It wouldn't be much of a conversation, anyway. KURT NIEBUHR: Exactly. We drive cars for a living. We're not very good conversationalists. [MUSIC PLAYING] REESE COUNTS: OK, BMW M8 competition coupe, the biggest, baddest BMW they make. I'm excited about this one. I thought the Shelby was going to be quick, but this one took the first race. KURT NIEBUHR: Oh, old faithful, here we are. Shelby GT500. It's all about the launch. And unfortunately, on a non-prep surface, this isn't very good at launching, which is just a shame. We're going to try and heat the rubber up, just so we get some grip, but the car still spins its wheels through almost 100 miles an hour. That's all it takes for that thing to just pull ahead. I'm going to do what I can, but at some point, the advantage this has on the start, is more or less the advantage it carries throughout the entire race. So unless I can somehow take away some of that advantage, it's an uphill battle with this thing. I still love it. It's the best sounding car in U-Drags. [MUSIC PLAYING] SPEAKER: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. KURT NIEBUHR: Switch to track mode. A better exit. Really bumpy. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Oh, man. REESE COUNTS: Oh, he's coming up hot. KURT NIEBUHR: Come on give it to me. Ha. Ha. REESE COUNTS: You were coming up really fast at the end. But man, this thing hauls. KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah, you can't give that thing a half a second. If you give it a half a second, you're going to lose by half a second. That's just such an enjoyable way to go fast, isn't it? In that car? REESE COUNTS: Yeah. I mean, both of these. And they're different machines. They feel different, but they're both supremely fun, and supremely fast. KURT NIEBUHR: They really are. I mean they're cut from the same cloth, but you get a very similar result in very different ways. CLINT SIMONE: It's pretty clear that the M8 superior low end torque and grip paid off big time. In race one, the BMW flew off the line, grabbing 60 in 3.1 seconds. The Beamer kept its lead through the corner, throwing down a crazy 10.9 second run. The Shelby clawed back hard in the corner, matching the BMW 1.17G. And in the final stretch home, the Mustang was cooking, but it was a little too late. The M8 finished the race in 32 seconds flat, 0.7 seconds ahead of the Ford. What's interesting is that the Mustang did finish second, but it was going nearly 8 miles per hour faster when it hit the finish line. Race two began with better launches than round one, with the M8 ripping a three second sprint, and the Mustang at 3.8. With such a clean start from the BMW, it was an uphill battle for the Shelby all the way into the braking zone, where you can see the Mustang get pretty unsettled as it started to scrub speed. Each car pulled over a G of cornering force in the turnaround, but the M8 was too far ahead. It finished the race in 32.4 seconds, at 137.3 miles per hour. But get this, the Mustang almost closed the gap, finishing just 0.1 seconds behind, with the speed of 147.8, 10 miles per hour quicker. Move the finish line a few more yards, and this could have been a different story. And now, let's turn to our updated Edmunds U-Drags Leaderboard. Remember, our races from last year are not shown, because we had to lengthen the course to accommodate big EVs with not so big brakes. Each car's quickest run goes on the leaderboard, regardless of race pairing. Both cars maintain their spots on the board, unable to improve on previous times. And now, let's check out the in-car camera and the data. KURT NIEBUHR: Switch to track mode. A better exit. Really bumpy. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. REESE COUNTS: Oh, man. KURT NIEBUHR: Come on. Give it to me. CLINT SIMONE: This is normally when we see the in-car camera and the data. But unfortunately, technical difficulties got in the way, and we can't show you the BMW. Please tell the good people at home what it is like to launch a Shelby GT 500. KURT NIEBUHR: It's frustrating with like-- CLINT SIMONE: Looked like it KURT NIEBUHR: --capital F. REESE COUNTS: It's just rear drive versus all wheel drive. KURT NIEBUHR: On an unprepped surface, if you ask for too much, like I tried a 2000 RPM launch, and got wheel-spin right through first and second gear. So you kind of have to accept the little bog that comes off the line, and then wait for it to just manage all that power. REESE COUNTS: Honestly, if the straight was any longer, that Shelby might have had it. CLINT SIMONE: That makes sense. What's your dream pairing? Let us know in the comments. We want to do more U-Drags. Let us know what you'd like to see. Thanks for watching. [MUSIC PLAYING]