BMW iX M60 vs BMW M5 CS – The 600 HP Showdown

BMW iX M60 and the BMW M5 CS represent the pinnacle of BMW M in very different ways. One is clearly a look into the future while one is perhaps the pinnacle of the past. But which in 2022 is the better car? We went to BMW M’s secret Nurburgring test to find out.
Deep in a small town a few miles from the famed Nurburgring Nordschleife, BMW M’s test facilities have been subject of spy photographers since it was built. The view has always been from the outside in. But today we’ve been offered a rare opportunity to go inside and look at the brand’s latest products. While the M3s, M4 and the M8s all are fantastic drives, our attention quickly turned to the two cars that perfectly captured the past and the future of the brand – the BMW iX M60i and the BMW M5 CS.
While they both offer over 600 hp, they are polar opposites in the way that power is delivered. The BMW M5 CS of course does it with a twin-turbo V8 producing 627 hp – the same as the mythical V12 in the McLaren F1. The BMW iX M60i produces up to 610 hp (with boost) from an electric drivetrain. The M5 CS hits 60 mph is a shocking 2.6 seconds (courtesy of Car and Driver). The iX M60i is a full second slower but at 3.6 seconds is exceptionally quick for a crossover. Especially one that weighs 5,642 lbs which a full 1,528 lbs heavier than the 4,114 lbs M5.
We know which represents the future of these two. But today, which is the one we’d rather have? After some time behind the wheel on some of the best roads in Germany we came away with a definitive answer.