It’s hard to argue that with age, nostalgia kicks in. In our young days, the BMW E39 M5 was the car we all dreamed of and often referenced in any car conversation. It was one of those elusive vehicles, almost ordinary looking, but which could duke it out with the most impressive supercars available on the market toda. Now, with so many years passing by, the E39 M5 retains its legendary status.
Ever since it was introduced back in 1998, the BMW E39 M5 raised quite a few eyebrows from the start. A total of 20,482 of these vehicles were made from 1999 to 2003. BMW M produced three versions of the E39 M5, which are the European LHD and RHD versions, but also a somewhat different North American specification version. One thing was common for these cars though; they packed enough power to cleanly sweep almost anything being thrown at it.
The BMW E39 M5 uses the S62 naturally-aspirated V8 engine that produces 294 kW (400 PS; 394 bhp) – powering the rear wheels through a Getrag type D six-speed manual transmission. It would accelerate from 0-62mph (0-100km/h) – accompanied by its significant and well ear pleasing V8 growl – in as low as 4.8 seconds. Mind you, this was a really heavy car with 4,026 lb (1,826 kg) of dry curb weight, packed with all the luxury and comfort goodies, available upon its release.
With the E39 M5 still packing a lot of performance, it’s no wonder these vehicles are commanding high prices. This particular BMW E39 M5 comes from Vorsteiner and it’s one of the cleanest examples you can find on the market today. With pristine paint, full-service history and an owner that’s anal about proper maintenance, this is definitely one of the best examples of this generation M5 that you can find in the world today.
The vehicle doesn’t feature a lot of mods – and it doesn’t need it. You’ll find the M5 adorned with a set of BBS LM wheels – a must for ’90s BMW tuning – alongside the M5 being lowered, but that’s about it. Check out the rather detailed media gallery of this BMW E39 M5 right below.
Wow! If “nostalgia literally kicked in the front door,” I hope nostalgia has to pay for the damage they’ve done. I don’t want to sound snarky but if you’re going to be journalists, someone should consult a dictionary now and again.
Beautiful E39 M5 in an awesome aspensilber metallic. For handling and classy looks, it doesn’t get any better.
Why would you buy a high performance sedan to drive in traffic? Or why would a manufacturer install a slushbox in a high performance sedan?
The modern automatic “slushbox” may shift even better than you, @Apple — faster shifts and better performance. Examples of high performance sedans that are not even available with a manual transmission include the Audi S6/S8, MB CLS55/63, MB E55/E63, BMW M5/550i, Lexus ISF, and Porsche Panamera, to name a few. The market for manual transmissions has all but disappeared. Traffic is ubiquitous; why would I buy a high performance sedan to leave it at home in the garage??
They made something near to it – the 540iA. As far as the weight, “well under” 4000 pounds, it is not… My E39 540 has a dry weight of 3850. If you want a lighter car, better get a 3 series. Being naturally aspirated, most of the torque seems to come in past 3500 rpms on an E39 V8. You just get more of it in the M5. For true torque, an E60 535i (turbos!!!) with a JB4 tune would easily walk my 540i, and would leave an E39 M5 behind. That may be my next BMW, as much as I love the E39 M5.
The 540iA was a true “sleeper,” faster than it looked and without the tell-tale M badging. Having 325 foot pounds of torque and weighing “only” 3850 pounds it was a good under-the-radar performer. Unfortunately the 4.4 liter motor had a long list of “typical” problems. The motor was built to run hot and the least problem could put it over the top, but you would never know it due to the “buffered” temperature gauge. One big maintenance problem (don’t laugh) was over-filling the coolant level, which would impair the coolant’s ability to circulate, and next thing you know you were frying under-the-hood electronics and causing little oil leaks between aluminum motor components, all without so much as a bump on the temp gauge. Buying today, watch out for oil leaks. A small timing cover leak would cost more than
the car was worth to repair, and the heated oil is a fire hazard and has a really nasty odor.
I bought mine rebuilt. Going to enjoy for as long as I can. I’m praying the timing chain guides don’t do until I have time and money to look at them. Also, the vanos, valley pan gasket, the plastic cooling system, more window regulators.. the list goes on. But, it is so fun to drive!
Keep a fresh thermostat in the car and you should avoid some of those problems. Even a new genuine BMW thermostat should be considered suspect until proven otherwise (never use any other type of thermostat IMHO, it’s too important). You are of course using a good code reader — an absolute must because the gauges are so buffered they’re practically useless.