BMW handed us the keys to two fun ideas in one day: the BMW M Drift Academy, and a full track session in the new M5 — 717 horsepower, hybrid boost, all-wheel drive, and enough mass to make physics file a complaint. We headed to the BMW Performance Center at the Thermal Club in California (103°F, because of course) to see what the new M5 is actually like when you stop reading the spec sheet and start putting it on track — then spent the rest of the day learning to drift on the skid pad with BMW's own instructors. In this video: - First laps in the new M5 on the Thermal Club road course - Braking, cornering lines, and why the ceramic brakes hold up under real abuse - Driver swap and second impressions from someone who already owns an M5 - The BMW M Drift Academy: throttle control, countersteer timing, and the figure-8 skid pad drill 0:00 – Cold open: drift highlights 0:51 – What today is: M Drift Academy + M5 track day 1:06 – The new M5: 717 hp, hybrid, AWD 1:26 – First laps on track...