Was Senner's velvety A5 Cabrio not powerful enough for you? HS Motorsport, located near BMW's home turf of Munich, has decided to help out consumers by amping-up the S5 Cabrio into a 375-horsepower 'vert. Power output aside, this white cabrio looks like a dog on the side of the road next to Senner's metallic brown goodness.
Though the S5 is a naturally handsome beast, HS Motorsport unfortunately decided to pass on any external modifications and concentrate on computer-tuning the car's supercharged 333-horspower V6. Wearing a Cargraphic exhaust setup and probably a new air filter, the car now puts down that aforementioned 375-horsepower and 525 Nm / 387 lb-ft of torque (stock: 440 Nm / 324 lb-ft).
Underneath the car is a Bilstein coilover kit, and a Brembo 380-mm, 6-piston front brake system is also available.
Other than a boosted top speed - now 290 km/h - and the higher output, there isn't much happening here. A poppin' red top, white car, and black 21-inch Cargraphic rims do not a show car make.
Besides, how and when did "tuning" (meaning a professional tuner, not your neighbor with a tuning hobby) become a process of just collecting a bunch of random name-brand off-the-shelf parts and putting them on a car? If that's the case, everyone should just go down to the chamber of commerce, register a company name, and call themselves tuners.
If a tuner is putting out a show car, I want it to be memorable. I don't need transparent hoods and Lamborghini doors, but at least do something a little different. Show me a show car with show.
By Phil Alex