The BMW V10 M5 will go down in history for many reasons. The last naturally aspirated M5. The only V10 production engine made by BMW. The world’s first production saloon fitted with a V10. The first F1-derived engine in an M5. The most powerful naturally aspirated M5 ever made. The first M5 to have a semi-automatic, F1 derived gearbox.
But the short description of the E60 M5 is this; a modest looking saloon car, that’s as mad as a box of frogs.
The E39 M5 had already set a high bar – an incredibly versatile, comfy, 4-door saloon, relatively understated but immensely capable. And it happened to be the fastest saloon car on the planet, too. So what follows that? Well, the E60 M5 went off in a slightly unexpected direction that, whilst not so popular at the time, we can now be very grateful for. They didn’t make it more comfy and tame. They didn’t make it smoother or more civilized or easier to drive. It wasn’t an economical car. The E60’s successor, the F10 M5 did all that. But in between, they went a little…mad.
So yes, for the E60 V10 M5, they went the other way. They made an engine that started from zero – no common parts with any other BMW production car, nothing carried forward. Taking the tech lessons learned from their Formula 1 Sauber car, the boffins at BMW M made a terrifyingly fast V10 engine, and ran the power through a gearbox that can change up or down a gear faster than the human brain can comprehend, let alone imitate. 0-60 in a reported 4.1 seconds, and a top speed, unrestricted, of just short of 200mph. Sure, around town, it could be a little bit less smooth than you’d like, and true, the interior is more stark, no nonsense and also, to the uninitiated, the car felt a bit unwieldy – even heavier.
But it wasn’t. It was lighter, it was more powerful, and by modern standards, remarkably gimmick free. It turned out you just needed to completely recalibrate your brain. The E60 M5 handled better because it was lighter, and had a better chassis. You just needed to have bigger cajónes. And it was much quicker, more responsive, you just had to stop messing about, get on the money, and go past 5000rpm, and stay nailed.
Nowadays, the old issues are barely relevant. Who cares if your V10 weekend car does less than 10mpg? Do you really need to worry if it’s a little jerky round town, when you can set your pants alight on the A and B roads? Be in no doubt just how unhinged these cars are – unhinged but sublimely controllable – you wont be complaining about mpg, we’re pretty sure of that.
Before we go on, the sale price includes a brand new set of bearing shells, to be carried out with the order, which is the major worry with these cars at higher mileage. So that’s a big tick in the box. The throttle actuators were done just a short while ago too.
We’ve known this car for nearly a decade, having sold it to the current and previous keeper, and its never wanted for anything. The service history (CBS) has been carried out to the letter. The same family have owned it as a second car from 2018, and have looked after it really well. We would normally focus on lower mileage cars, but knowing this car as we do, and having the scope to sort the rod bearings, we have no hesitation in recommending this V10 M5 to our customers. Our technical team have carried out a full inspection and are very pleased with the results. It drives like a dream too.
For more information on this cracking V10 M5 or to book a visit (by appointment only please) contact our showroom team on 01825 740456 or sales@munichlegends.com
