If you are feeling nostalgic with the year about to end or just curious about the capabilities of old-timers, here’s a great video to watch.
TFLclassics has put a 1987 Porsche 944 Turbo up against a BMW M535i produced in the same year. The M535i spec was very close to M5 back at the time, except for the engine. The mill was standard 535i fare and produced 185 PS (182 hp / 135 kW) in the U.S. version shown here. The Euro spec was superior with 218 PS (215 hp / 160 kW).
In turn, the 944 Turbo rocked a turbocharged version of the standard 2.5-liter flat-four with 220 PS (217 hp / 162 kW) at the output end. The papers claimed it could sprint 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) in 6.1 seconds, but this example is world-weary with over 100,000 miles (160,000 km) on the odo and 35 years in service.
Having said that, the contender is not young, either, and the race takes place 1.6 km (5,250 feet) above sea level, so both will have it hard! Watch and realize just how much the industry has advanced in these years.