WHEN IT COMES to classic cars, time is a distinctly mutable concept. Let me explain. There are some cars whereby the passing of time has a burnishing effect. It polishes away the rough edges, leaving a perception of something jewel-like and precious.
The opposite also happens. We can all name those cars that have suffered at the hands of time – rendered haggard and obsolete. The magic happens when classics transform from timeworn to treasured. BMW’s E34 M5 is currently enjoying this marvellous metamorphosis.
In truth, the E34 has never been the most storied M5 generation, falling between the founder appeal of the E28 and the extremity of the V8 E39 – the last of the line with a manual gearbox. In many regards, the E34 was a transitional M car. It was the last to be handbuilt in Garching – on Daimlerstrasse, by way of irony – and when production eventually ended in 1995, it wasn’t replaced for another three years. Bizarrely, the E34 is the only M5 that was ever replaced by an M3. The E36 M3 sedan was introduced in late 1994 to
