For many, the E60-generation M5 stole the show with its screaming V10 engine. But the pilot episode of that spectacle began earlier — the moment the E39-generation M5 arrived on the market with its 400 horsepower.
And if for no other reason, that alone makes it one of those cars you simply have to experience at least once.
Although the “interest rate” in the form of the M5 has always been brutally high, and although the E60 generation mesmerizes with its howling V10 even at idle, our choice for the greatest BMW M5 of all time inevitably points to the E39.
And not just because it was once the most unhinged sedan on the market.
Not just because its design belongs to that rare group of timeless cars destined to defy the passage of time forever.
And not even because of the 400 horsepower unleashed by its screaming V8.
What truly defines the E39 M5 is the fact that it is one of the most complete high-performance cars ever made — a car with four doors and four genuinely comfortable seats.
In other words, this was a sedan whose performance and character made even the wildest drivers think twice once behind the wheel.
At the time, the massive 4.9-liter S62 V8 engine was capable of delivering around 400 horsepower to the rear wheels. With that output, this nearly 1.8-ton monster in a tailored suit could sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.8 seconds, before continuing its brutal demonstration of force all the way to an electronically limited 250 km/h.
And of course, there’s the Nürburgring.
An 8:20 lap time around the 22.8-kilometer of Green Hell perfectly sums up the car’s unhinged character.
Yes — every M5 has been special in its own way. Yet despite ever-increasing numbers from one generation to the next, the E39 M5 represents something unique.
On one hand, it is a completely deranged machine that allows its driver to behave like few other cars on the planet. On the other, it remains an elegant executive sedan — one that combines BMW’s now-lost design “classic” with genuine technological advancement.
This is one of those cars in which wearing a tracksuit feels out of place — and one that doesn’t suffer from an identity crisis. The BMW M5 E39 doesn’t try desperately to please the masses eager to claim a piece of the “fastest letter in the world.”
Instead, it is refreshingly unconcerned with norms. At its core lies a pure, uncompromised approach to the market — while still continuing the tradition of uniform insanity that the two previous M5 generations used to captivate the automotive world.
For all these reasons, this car demands absolute respect at all times — day or night, in every driving condition. It was never meant for the masses, but rather for those machines that serve as automotive bogeymen — cars that smaller vehicles should genuinely fear.
In short, the BMW M5 E39 has character in abundance.
And as such, it is unquestionably one of those cars you must experience at least once in your lifetime.
