5 Great Exotic Cars

Bakeoven Road was once the long, hot, straight, final leg of the Oregon Trail. Imagine blistering across it in a 500-horsepower V10 BMW M6 Coupe, at an unmentionable speed. In a county that God blessed and the State Patrol forgot. It was a great day.

The M6 is one quick coupe, with the 0-60 mph sprint consuming just over 4 seconds. While it shares its drivetrain with the M5, it's shorter in wheelbase, lower and sleeker in roofline, and significantly lighter thanks in part to a carbon-fiber roof.

Its 5.0-liter V10 borrows technologies from BMW's Formula 1 program, and screams to 8250 rpm while producing 383 lb-ft of torque at 6100 rpm. A button on the dash fittingly called "Power" is like an afterburner, releasing the final 100 horsepower. For cruising around town, you keep the M6 dialed back to a mere 400.

Stick with the 6-speed gearbox, not the 7-speed SMG. Expect to see the twin-clutch transmission that's in the new M3 in future models.