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    BMW E39 M5

    Feb 02, 2020 6 minutes
    ANDY ENRIGHT
    PHOTOS
    NATHAN JACOBS

    Model BMW E39 M5

    Engine 4941cc V8 (900), dohc, 32v

    Max power 294kW @ 6600rpm

    Max torque 500Nm @ 3800rpm

    Transmission 6-speed manual

    Weight 1795kg

    0-100km/h 5.3sec (tested)

    Economy 15.5L/100km (tested)

    Price $195,800 (2003)

    BMW CURRENTLY sells 28 different road car models with an M badge on the back, yet the first to carry any sort of Motorsport designation was the E12 530 MLE that rolled from the Rosslyn plant in South Africa back in 1976. In the intervening 44 years, the company has built many very good M cars but, I’d argue, only three truly great models: the E46 M3 CSL, the current M2 and the E39 M5.

    It’s the M5 that might just be the most perfect archetype of the M genus. The raw ingredients are bewitching in their simplicity: a 4.9-litre normally aspirated V8 engine, a six-speed manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive. There are many reasons why this could be seen as the zenith of BMW’s M

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