I grew up as a car-obsessed teenager dreaming about the bmw e39 m5, and my bedroom gave the game away. A Scalextric set sat on the floor, a pile of dog-eared car magazines and a deck of Top Trumps covered the desk, Clarkson Unleashed on Cars looped in the VHS player, and SEGA’s Colin McRae Rally ran on the games console.
A little Lamborghini Diablo model sat on the window ledge, but the real prize was the framed poster above my bed. Other kids in my class picked the McLaren F1, the Aston Martin Vantage, a Speed Yellow 993 Turbo, or a Scarlet Ferrari F355, but I picked the E39 M5 in Avus Blue, built by BMW in 1998.
BMW E39 M5
Today’s super saloons chase fiendish speed and complexity, yet this mighty M5 stayed honest, and it still reads like one of the last traditional super saloons on sale. As the third edition of the M5, it dropped the old straight six for a gutsy, naturally aspirated engine, a 4.9-litre V8 that some brochures rounded up to a 5.0 litre V8, sending 400bhp through a proper manual gearbox with an intuitive rear-drive balance.
Four exhausts hid in the back bumper, a detail once kept for the Italian supercar aristocracy, not a sober executive saloon, giving the car understated menace rather than showy drama. It felt like a Bavarian family box that had crashed the Polo club of exotic machinery, and that blend of analogue thrills and quiet confidence is why the E39 still stands apart today.
Engine, Development & Technical History
The story starts back in 1984 with the E28, continues through 1988 with the E34, and reaches a turning point in the E39, which finally dropped the straight six and its six-in-line cylinders for an all-aluminium V8 called the S62, making it M’s first V8.
Compared with the six-pot predecessors, the new unit borrowed its base from the 4.4 litre V8 in the 540i, which made 286bhp using a single throttle body design, then the M Division grew the bore by 2mm to reach a 94mm bore and stretched the 89mm stroke, lifted the compression ratio 11.0:1, fitted individual throttle bodies for each of the cylinder banks, added Double VANOS to adjust both intake camshafts and exhaust camshafts, and reshaped the hollowed camshafts for sharper throttle response.
The result, a cast aluminium block with a semi-dry sump and scavenging pumps built for hard cornering, plus dual mass air flow sensors and a world’s most powerful ECU from Siemens, produced 394bhp at 6,600rpm, only 400rpm short of the redline, a jump of 59 horsepower boost over the older 3.8-litre E34 unit and its 340bhp. Torque told an even bigger story: 369 lb-ft landed at 3,800rpm, nearly 1,000rpm sooner than the old 295lb ft peak at 300rpm, a gain of 74lb/ft that made the car feel far stronger through the long wheelbase, even with extra kerb weight now sitting at 1,795kg, up 70kg on before.
On the road, this free-revving, turbine smooth engine and its linear torque delivery turned the M5 into a proper oversteer machine, helped by aluminium control arms, MacPherson struts up front, and a multi-link set-up at the back that replaced the old trailing arm arrangement, plus a mechanical limited-slip differential and a six-speed manual transmission though the bulky V8 forced engineers to fit a recirculating ball arrangement instead of rack and pinion.
Numbers backed up the feel too: 0-62mph took 5.3sec, some tests recorded 0-60mph 4.7s, the strongest peak power arrived earlier than rivals expected, the air intake system fed both sides evenly, and rumours of derestricted cars hitting 186mph and passing 100mph in barely six seconds made the car legendary, especially set beside the wild twin-turbocharged Lotus Carlton and the M1-inspired bloodline that started this whole legend.
Styling & Design
Look closely and the E39’s body styling never shouts, it just whispers with discreet menace. A small chin spoiler, sculpted M mirrors, massaged arches, and a tiny lip on the boot, better known as the lip spoiler, give the car quiet purpose rather than drama.
The slim-spoked 18-inch wheels sit on a staggered set-up, wrapping 245-section tyres at the front and 275s rear tyres behind, finished in a chrome shadow finish on those deep-dish alloy wheels that still turn heads today. Only the quad tailpipes and those wheels truly set it apart from the ordinary M-kitted 528is wearing near-identical panels, because the real magic sits in the stance: correct ride height, tight arch clearance, and just the right rake all working together.
Interior
Step inside and the cabin feels like one of the most logical cabins ever built. The ostrich-like leather seat faces sit on leather seats trimmed with tricolour stitching, and that same M tricolour flashes again on the embossed headrests, almost daring you to play Spot the M Badge while you wait.
Electric adjustment and heating push the driving position just slightly high, and the light grey colour palette matches the grey-faced dials perfectly, with the rev counter showing orange lights that fade as the engine warms, an oil temperature gauge standing in for the usual mpg counter.
There’s a proper handbrake, three pedals, and a gearlever topped with an illuminated gear knob and an illuminated legend, while the three-spoke steering wheel, with its ideal rim thickness on a thick-rimmed wheel, still houses satellite navigation and a few small screens, proving even this analogue car couldn’t fully escape technology.
Driving Experience & Engine Character
Turn the key and the S62 fires up with a shake, like a CEO nudging a filing cabinet shut, before settling into a bass-rich idle. As eight cylinders wake up, the exhaust note moves from a soft murmur to a distant growl, helped along by a rubbery shifter that slots gently into first gear.
At low speeds the 4.9-litre engine, thanks to true natural aspiration, responds smoothly to your right foot rather than snapping off some jumpy throttle map, which makes crawling through rush hour on a damp motorway feel calm to any casual observer, even with 520ds filling every lane around you.
Watch the 8000rpm sweep on the rev range and you’ll notice the limiter’s orange lights hold back top gear power until the oil warms, a trick a bit of mechanical sympathy teaches you to respect, and one that Hyundai’s i30 N borrowed almost exactly, probably from a few ex-BMW engineers.
Once warm, the floor-hinged pedal allows huge throttle pedal travel, and the swelling power builds cleanly through second gear, third gear, fourth gear, and fifth gear, without the flustered downchanges or jerk factor you get from a modern manual box with fickle electronics.
The tall gearing still lets you sprint past traffic even without dropping a gear, and cars fitted with twin Eventuri carbon intakes and an aftermarket Kelleners exhaust trade the factory’s once-criticised muted soundtrack for something genuinely addictive burbling at idle, howling past 5,000rpm, and pinning you into the footwell with a rush that stays smooth well into three figures at full bore.
Ride Comfort & Damping
Despite low-profile rubber, with 40 front tyres and 35 rear tyres, and tyres low profile by any measure, the ride stays surprisingly pliant.
Soft springs and well-tuned dampers soak up road lumps and busy surface textures on rough British roads like nothing else, and the body control feels close to witchcraft, especially since this damping compromise never needed the two-stage adaptive dampers the earlier E34 M5 offered in 3.8 litre format, let alone today’s adaptive damping systems.
At 70mph, the smooth V8 hums quietly, tyre roar and wind roar stay distant, the automatic wipers flick on without fuss, and the whole car behaves like a model citizen, keeping the cabin serene no matter the weather.
Handling & Cornering
On more involving roads, with poor surfaces and a series of turns, the M5 shows real precision and attitude through every exit slip road. Mild understeer acts as a built-in safety net, a default stance you feel through the front of car before you get bolder and prod the DSC to find the hooligan hiding underneath, sending the car into gentle slides out of 2nd gear corners and well-sighted corners.
Push into the wilderness of tighter turns and the chassis feels like it’s pivoting right around the driver’s seat, giving a genuine rear-drive stance with boundless energy that runs from low revs all the way to the 7000rpm red line, working just as well from second gear through third gear and sixth gear.
With close to 400 horses and a kerb weight near 1.8 ton, comparisons to a Ford Mustang feel fair, except the BMW stays more cultured and more responsive, never rowdy.
Direction changes happen with real athleticism, almost like watching Swan Lake, and the car will roll at a rate that matches your throttle change and aggression, following that classic BMW M philosophy of building progression right up to the limit of grip and the limit of adhesion.
Thanks to 100lb/ft more torque running through only wider tyres, the tail sliding starts at more manageable speeds, and the longer wheelbase smooths out any messy transition once you catch it with a bit of steering lock.
Steering Feedback
Steering stays the one honest weak point on the bmw e39 m5, among the car’s dynamic weak points. The recirculating ball steering system, chosen because of tight packaging issues around the V8, brings reassuring heft and feels properly direct, yet it never becomes truly feelsome, since real feedback arrives more through the seat of pants than the fingertips.
Journalists noticed this muted steering long ago; evo’s John Barker raised the same complaint about numbness at the car’s launch back 21 years ago, and the issue still isn’t quite meaningful communication.
Picture the steering wheel clock analogy: with 12:00 as dead ahead, there’s a soft dead zone somewhere around 10:30 and 1:30 during the initial turn of wheel, roughly as vague as listening to the former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, dodge a question, though the numbness fades fast once you settle into a flowing pace, and the car still tells you plenty about building understeer long before it turns into a real problem.
FAQs
What engine powers the BMW e39 m5?
The Bmw e39 m5 uses a naturally aspirated, 4.9-litre V8 codenamed S62, delivering 394bhp and 369lb ft of torque.
Is the e39 m5 a manual gearbox car?
Yes, the e39 m5 comes with a proper six-speed manual transmission and a mechanical limited-slip differential for true rear-drive balance.
What makes the e39 m5 a legendary super saloon?
Its blend of understated menace, analogue thrills, and naturally aspirated engine makes the e39 m5 one of the last traditional super saloons.
What are common reliability issues on the e39 m5?
The VANOS system, mass air flow sensors, and rust around the sills and jacking points are the most common problem areas on the e39 m5.
How fast is the e39 m5 from 0-60mph?
The e39 m5 sprints from 0-60mph in around 4.7 seconds, reaching speeds that rivaled supercars of its era.
