BMW M5 CS meets Audi RS6 GT for a Teutonic tussle – car pictures of the week
The two most thrilling fast German execs ever made finally meet. These are our favourite shots from the test.
The German super exec is one of the best-loved genres in all of the performance car world, offering buyers a real multi-marque struggle for ever-increasing power, performance and ultimately, thrills. We can’t help but feel, however, that, for the moment at least, the peak of the genre has passed. That peak is perfectly exemplified by the two cover stars of issue 342 of evo, the legendary BMW M5 CS and the amazing Audi RS6 GT. It was a comparison test that demanded an epic location and an indulgent shoot, from which we’ve picked the best shots here.
The M5 CS’s story is well-told. It was a shock evo Car of the Year winner in 2021, besting the Porsche 911 GT3 Touring and Lamborghini Huracán STO to the top step. Whenever you tell someone that, they don’t believe you. Then, if they’re lucky enough to get some drive time in the M5, all becomes clear – exclamations along the lines of ‘oh, it really is that good’. It’s not a dramatically technically different car to the Competition version. It’s decently lighter, with retuned suspension, more power and aggression in the engine. What it feels like, is an M5 on the other side of a hardcore six-month callisthenics routine – taut, responsive, alive.
The Audi RS6 GT follows a similar formula, even down to the gaudy visual touches. It’s got manually-adjustable coilover suspension, stiffer anti-roll bars front and rear, a returned Audi Sport limited-slip diff and carbonfibre bodywork. The result is the angriest, most engaging RS6 there’s ever been and a car you’d not necessarily have expected to come from the oft-reserved Audi.
We’ve been conspiring to get the M5 CS and RS6 GT together ever since the latter launched in 2024. Now we have, it’s been a revealing comparison. You’ll have to pick up issue 342 either in store or from the evo shop for the conclusion but suffice to say, these really do represent peak German Uberwagen.
‘The M5 CS is pretty firm in Sport Plus, but in Comfort and even Sport there’s a useful amount of compliance. You feel the bumps but they don’t upset the car. Of the two steering settings, Sport adds a dollop of weight and only becomes useful when you’re pressing on and working with big inputs. The only thing this CS is missing is the ten-stage traction control of later M cars, which would unlock more of its potential in conditions such as these. As rain falls increasingly heavily, the CS feels decreasingly keyed into the road.
‘Now it’s the Audi’s time to shine. The RS6 GT didn’t win eCoty as the M5 CS did, but it impressed mightily in the 2024 edition, finishing fifth and beating, amongst others, the latest BMW M4 CS. I still remember clambering aboard for the first time, at the end of a day that had started long before sunrise. My tired eyes saw it simply as an estate car. It took only a couple of corners before I realised this was no ordinary estate car; a few more before I muted the stereo; and a couple more before I exclaimed out loud, ‘No way!’ No way could this 2075kg car be doing the things it was doing.’ – James Taylor, evo deputy editor.
