Video: Stig thrashes the new BMW M5

In the latest issue of Top Gear Magazine Stig and James May meet BMW's new supercar for the modern gentleman, we test some of the most formidable turbo-ed cars on the planet, and the new Mini Coupe gets a good going over.

A few words from Editor-In-Chief Charlie Turner - and then some moving pictures from our tame racing driver...

"It's amazing how quickly 1,200bhp concentrates the mind. It's also amazing how quickly it compresses 30 miles of arrow-straight desert road into a point just in front of previously long-distant mountains.

They appear like a slap in the face, shunted forward in a rush. It doesn't help that the V8 behind me is roaring madly, topped off with induction and turbo noise that sounds like Lord Vader having a panic attack.

We're dealing with the weapons-grade turbo power, and the results are shocking. The Hennessey Venom GT is the fastest accelerating car I have experienced - and, if you're sitting in Molsheim polishing a world speed record, best put the Bugatti-branded duster down. The Americans are coming, and the phrase ‘superpower' just took on a whole new meaning. Pat Devereux tries to shake off a 100 per cent proof adrenalin rush and write something lucid about the two fastest road cars in America in our new issue.

But forced induction remains a theme; every car on the cover sports a turbo. Including - whisper it - the new BMW M5. It may have incensed the purists, but is it still a legend? We hand the keys to James, and then Ollie Marriage referees the title bout: new BMW M5 vs Mercedes E63 AMG. Stigness ensues.

The new Mini Coupe has a turbo too, though it forces air into a more prosaic 1.6-litre. Still fun though, and laying down its strange, backwards baseball-cap-wearing gauntlet to the TT and RCZ later in the issue.

Conclusion? Turbos are here to stay. They offer carmakers efficiency plus power. But as we head towards the end of the line for atmospheric aspiration, we're witnessing the birth of the new state-of-the-art turbo generation. An era that will see the most powerful, efficient engines ever created.

A 200g/km, 2,000bhp V8 anyone?"

For more information and a sneak preview of this month's Top Gear Magazine, head this way