Just bought an M5!!!

[BigMo]

you will

[780z]

On the subject of performance I have been up against a couple of mates E39 M5's both on the road and at Santa Pod and the RS6 wins outright up to mad speeds everytime.
For example at the Pod none of the M5's were able to better 13.4 @ 103mph and even that seemed like a fluke as they were usually running late 13's @ just under 100, whilst the RS6 consistently ran under 13 to 107 and whilst 13.4 @104 is certainly not slow it is not in the same league as the RS, by the way my RS is bog standard.
Modify the RS (very cheap and easy) and the M5 won't even see which way you went...............

[BigMo]

you should get modifying chap.....even better!!!!

[Mac-Logotech]

When I owned my E39 M5 there was virtually nothing in it peformance wise. Both super quick, M5 was better on the juice too!
RS probably had it off the line but the M5 is no slouch. As far as looks go i personally like the M5 better inside(comfort and build) and the RS outside, it just looks awesome.
The M5 feels like a nice place to be inside. Maybe the recaros in the RS are better!

[Balchy]

Here's another angle: I had an old boss with a lovely W-reg M5 (E39?) - no question it was eligible for "future classic" status but engine issues of that model were far more scarey than the gearbox / DRC probs of the RS ... he got a warranty quote of 1800 from WD at the time (2 years ago)

[ibby]

here is what clarkson thinks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elvv3uj8bkA