This past Tuesday I was fortunate enough to have been invited to the BMW M Track Days at Lime Rock Park in CT. We drove an M2 and M3 around the track - three cars in line following an instructor, who went faster until we couldn't keep up. We also drove an M4 around the autocross track, followed by a "drag race" in an M5, M6 and X6-M, where we launched from an arm-drop and had to stop within a box at the end.
Holy cow, what an amazing experience! They told us that ~10% of all the M2's in North America were at the track that day. The M2 is a great car, and you absolutely love it until you try the M3. We were touching 130 before braking for turn 1, and the M3 had the carbon ceramic brake option, so braking at the 5 marker was no sweat. The instructors were braking at the 3! To keep the speeds down they had us go through the chicane on the uphill - awesome! The M3 makes you feel like you're an unbelievable driver. The computer controls, endless power, and huge brakes made it very easy to go fast. The M2 had much of the same, but somehow you felt like you were in control just a little bit more than the M3.
The M4 was fun; they actually let us turn down the computer nannys for a less-intrusive experience. The M5 was probably the best at the drag race and the most fun. The X6-M... what can I say? I mean, it makes absolutely no sense to own one of these. Its stupid fun. The rear brakes look like the fronts on the Porsche GT3 cup cars; the fronts are just insanely huge. I had to lift off the brake pedal the first time driving it because I was on target to stop short of the stop box.
At the end they had the instructors do a few hot laps with the aids turned off. Our driver was Jake Dallenbach, those Dallenbach's of NASCAR royalty. He had some hillbilly country music cranked up, the AC blasting, and carried on a conversation with us while throwing the car around the track!!
What a day. Had to brag. The local dealer keeps calling me... I think I need a BMW in my life.
