If I were to create a list of my favorite cars, BMW’s M5 would be near the top. It’s fast, fun, rare, and spectacularly understated – all qualities I admire. Since only about 1,300 were imported to North America three decades ago, these aren’t cars one comes across regularly. Imagine my surprise when I saw two M5s within a month! Fittingly, both of these cars were parked in everyday settings. This was the world’s fastest sedan when it was introduced, yet the car’s lack of visual pretension meant that to most people, it looked like an ordinary BMW. I suppose I caught these two cars in their natural habitat: Hiding in plain sight.
“M” in this case designated BMW’s Motorsport GmbH Division, which developed the M1 supercar in the late 1970s – a car that was unlikely to hide anywhere.
A decade later, the Motorsport Division created “M” versions of BMW’s three model ranges, the 6, 5 and 3. These M cars became the flagships of their respective model ranges and elevated BMW’s (already high) performance credentials. It’s the M5 that we’re looking at today – overzealous performance wrapped in an aging sedan package.
BMW’s second generation of 5 series cars, known as the E28, became an iconic sedan design when introduced in 1981. With its forward-leaning grille, airy greenhouse, athletic profile, and prolific visual cues to earlier BMWs, this car defined its brand in the 1980s. An antithesis of that decade’s trend toward aero designs, the narrow, upright, chiseled 5 series still pulled in strong sales. While many (most?) North American models were rather pedestrian 528e models, the sportier 535i and 535is variants offered more power and better handling, evoking the qualities of earlier sporting BMWs. Then the M5 came along.
The M5’s signature feature was that BMW essentially transplanted the M1’s 24-valve DOHC six-cylinder engine into the 5-series. This degree of trickle-down performance seemed like the stuff of dreams at the time, yet BMW did it. Turning out 286hp in European form (more than the M1 since BMW added Bosch Motronic fuel injection), that was enough to propel this sedan to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds. To put that in perspective, the power and acceleration was roughly on par with the contemporary Ferrari 328.
Debuting in February 1985 at the Amsterdam International Motor Show, the M5 was quickly hailed as the world’s fastest sedan. Continental Europe got its M5s first, right-hand drive UK cars came out in mid 1986… and as always, North Americans had to wait.
North American models went on sale in February 1987 (all North American E28 M5s were sold as 1988 models). As typical for the times, US emissions equipment drained a good bit of power. These cars developed “only” 256hp, adding a fraction of a second to the European M5’s 0-60 time. Fortunately for North American customers, a sedan capable of reaching 60mph in 6.5 seconds was still remarkable.
North American M5s were all largely similar – available only in black, only with a manual transmission, and the only option was $200 for heated seats. Tan was officially the only interior color offered on US models, though Canadians could choose black as well. Some black-interior M5s were sold in the US late in the production run (which ran into late 1987), but only a few dozen black-interior M5s made it across the Atlantic.
A sedan with a Ferrari’s performance is amazing, but my favorite aspect of this car is that it looks downright ordinary. Only a few subtle M5 badges, BBS alloy wheels on chunky tires, and understated front and rear spoilers differentiated the M5 from the sedate 528e. Most people wouldn’t notice the clues. As such, this car didn’t attract buyers interested in showing off. With a US list price of $45,500, the M5 cost 50% more than the base 528e, yet looked mighty similar.
There was no question that the M5 would be a limited-production vehicle, but demand was higher than BMW anticipated. That was good news for BMW, though it got the company in a bit of trouble. In this Spring 1987 US magazine ad, BMW stated that “there are only 500 of them available this year.” Ultimately, BMW sold 1,239 M5s in the US, and another 101 in Canada. Some of the original buyers – aggravated that their limited-production models wouldn’t be quite as rare as they’d assumed – filed a class action lawsuit against BMW. The litigants won a minor victory. To settle the case, BMW provided all original owners with a $4,000 voucher towards the purchase of a new BMW. Like many class action suits, law firms ended up with more rewards than the “harmed class members.” In fact, most of those certificates (which were transferable) were bought from the owners for a fraction of their value by brokers who then resold them.
The second of our featured M5s looks different than most. With its smaller, European bumpers and extra graphics, I’d assumed this was either a European model recently imported, or a regular 5-series turned into an M5 tribute. However, this is a North American M5 – it must have undergone cosmetic surgery at some point to replace the protruding US-mandated bumpers with more attractive European ones. I don’t blame the owner for doing so, since these bumpers greatly improve the car’s aesthetics.
While I don’t have interior shots of either of our featured cars, it’s worth looking at a webfind image to note that the M5’s interior is just as understated as the exterior. Swatches of M colors in the sport seats’ backrests, and a similar color pattern on the steering wheel, shifter and tachometer are all that differentiate the M5’s driving compartment from that of other 5-series.
As for mechanical equipment, BMW did modify more than just the engine on these cars. Other performance-related items included larger brakes, stiffer springs with high-performance shocks, thicker anti-roll bars and wider wheels. North American M5s also received a load-leveling rear suspension. The M5 wasn’t just fast… it also handled extreme speeds with outstanding confidence and ability.
Road & Track’s Paul Frere perhaps summed up this car best. After driving a European M5, he said “…despite its external appearance and generous accommodation for four or even five passengers and their luggage, is the next best thing to a full-blood sports car.” Given that Frere was a race driver and an excellent journalist, I trust his judgment on this.
In today’s world of 290-hp minivans and Tesla sedans that can hit 60 mph in 4 seconds, the M5’s performance credentials may not seem that extraordinary. However, in the 1980s a sedan this fast seemed impossible. The M5 offered performance typically reserved for 2-seater exotics, but with the luxury and practicality of a mid-size sedan. Like an automotive version of a triathlete, this car offered performance, practicality and luxury in one package.
Perhaps the best indication of just how far cars have come in the last few decades is this sarcastic comment left a few years ago by someone selling a 1988 M5 on Bring A Trailer. It’s somewhat of an exaggeration, but a modern Camry could give the world’s fastest sedan of the 1980s a run for its money.
The E28 M5 spawned several decades of successors; today one can pick up a new 700+ hp M5 for about $120,000. However, this car’s legacy stretches beyond the rarified world of BMW flagships. The M5 opened the door for other high-performance sedans and blurred the lines between performance and practicality. That’s quite a legacy to hide in plain sight.
Car#1 photographed in Fairfax Station, Virginia in May 2023.
Car #2 photographed in Vienna, Virginia in June 2023.
A friend of mine bought a couple of these in the mid ’90s. The first time I rode in one, he ran it up through the gears as we left a toll booth. Admittedly, there were two passengers and some auto parts on board, but I remember noticing that a Ford Explorer hung right with us, and 1994 Ford Explorers were not overpowered. The S38B35 did make a proper BMW sort of acceleration moan though.
1994 Ford Explorer 0-60: 10.4 sec. (C/D test)
1988 M5 0-60 (US version) 6.5 sec.
One can rather assume that the BMW driver wasn’t exactly fully utilizing its potential? Or was a crappy driver? Or?
The BMW M5 weighs about 500 pounds less than the lightest 1994 Explorer so perhaps up to the same with two extra passengers and some auto parts on board so that shouldn’t be it, even if assuming the Explorer only had just the driver on board. Perhaps the mid ’90s purchased M5s were in a poor state of tune?
Having owned an Explorer from new powered with a V8, it sure didn’t give me the impression of being able to hang with anything beyond maybe (MAYBE) an automatic-equipped 318. An M5 next to me at the Bay Bridge toll gate? I would have saluted it and watched its tail lights rocket away.
He certainly didn’t drop the clutch and speed shift, but he was flooring the car and holding it until close to redline. It sounded healthy. It didn’t feel particularly exciting though. IIRC, he bought it from a semi-functioning alcoholic. It’s body bore the scars of a dozen contacts with landscaping retaining walls and garage door frames, but I don’t think it was supposed to need anything significant mechanically. I believe he restored the car, or maybe he parted it out to restore the other one he bought. His FB page currently shows a photo of an E28 with a V12. I believe he was driving an E34 525i touring with a V12 last time we hung out. Around the same time as the ride in the E28 M5, I drove a 1991 E34 M5 that belonged to the local Pepsi distributor. It also failed to deliver the massive increase in performance I kept expecting over my Dinan chipped E30. None of the S38s charged for the redline the way one might expect a racing-derived engine to.
Hard to believe that only a little over 1200 were sold in the US. While certainly not common, they weren’t exactly a rare sight in Silicon Valley in the day.
Thanks Eric for a post that does a good job capturing the appeal that these cars had to those of us who were around when they were new. It was exactly the fact that the M5 was understated, rare, and just that much more expensive that made them just that much more desirable than a “regular” BMW. Naturally, they were too fussy and expensive to maintain for most people…but I suppose that had its appeal as well.
Ironically, I also think that the M5 was the beginning of BMW’s rather long decline to the present day. As a person who remembers M cars as being exclusive, fussy, and “special”, I am just totally put off by seeing M badges plastered on seemingly the majority of what BMW now sells. I’d have to think long and hard to recall the last time I saw a new BMW SUV that wasn’t an M model. Different times, different market. Oh well.
Still, given that one can pick up an E28 M5 for under $50K, I’d be tempted to do that the next time I have to spend $50K on a car. I’d probably get talked out of that though.
Good article – I had forgotten how rare these were back when they were new, given how the M badges seem so ubiquitous on BMWs these days.
One of these cars happens to live next door to me. I have only seen it in motion once, shortly after the owner, now well into his 80s, moved in years ago. Today, it sits buried under a ton of junk in an overstuffed garage, so I’m not sure it’s in working order – a classic ran-when-parked situation. I’m not sure my neighbor would be willing to part with it, given he’s owned it since new, so the inevitable will likely have to transpire before the car moves on to the next owner.
Wow – that’s quite a story. Fortunately these are still pretty desirable, so the odds are pretty good for that car once it makes it out of the garage.
Yes, I did rather lust for one of these at the time. It knocked my W124 300E off its pedestal as the fastest sedan.
These may be the cars that best represent BMW’s tagline “The Ultimate Driving Machine”, reason #1 being you didn’t have the choice of an automatic transmission.
Reasons 2-99 are self-evident. The color, the trim, the aggressive look to those in the know while sublimely subtle and completely under the radar to those not in the know, the engine, the fit and finish, the feel, the suspension, it all comes together here and while not the first M-car, it was the first semi-mass-production one, albeit still built off of the main assembly line…
The rarity and price of these helped sell a number of the slightly less endowed 535is, which were almost as capable, more available, in different colors, almost identical in look, and somewhat less finicky. While also still not a common car, it’s interesting that when seen, the 535is seems to only rarely be painted black. Red, white, and the champagne color seem to predominate there at least as far as my anecdotal memory recollects.
Of these two here, I vastly prefer the first one, I’ve become attached to the look with the large U.S. bumpers with slight fussy front end spoiler and fog light assembly, those to me are the ones that look “right” after 40 years of seeing E28s that way…
When I saw these cars, I realized I still performed a decades-old routine of taking a second look at any black 5-series with a spoiler to check if it was an M5. Old habits die hard.
My list of desired cars doesnt feature any BMWs, being straight line fast is not impressive.
E28 BMW is one of my all time favorites. Maybe just my own ignorance or prejudice, I always feel its look matches the seriousness of German character. This M5 may be too good for me, I will go to get an 535is instead.
In terms of high speed and handling, wonder if a V8 powered W124 can outrun the M5
I loved the 5s back when they were new, but from a distance because they were well above my price range. By the time used ones were around in decent numbers, I had a family and they were still beyond my price range, if we include expected repairs. So I remember these, and like them for the same reasons you do. Like an athlete in a well-tailored suit.
Looking at the headlights of the second car, it appears that outer pair is larger than the inner. Thus, it gives another reason to believe that the car was originally sold outside of US or Canada.