The M5's reinforced active locking and torque-vectoring rear differential (the Active M-Differential) brilliantly adjudicates traction between the rear wheels.
Packing a 5.0-liter aluminum alloy V8 engine that generates a blazing 510 horsepower and 461 pound-feet of launch-happy torque, it runs with other hopped-up premium SUVs like the BMW X5 M and the Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG.
But I see now, as I'm accelerating out of a shallow banked turn around 120 mph and I feel the torque-vectoring differential sorting itself out, that I've misjudged the car.