It’s been 40 years since BMW launched the original M5, back when the M cars were largely hand-built. A new onboard video shows a pristine example of the flagship E28 stretching its legs on the Autobahn. The sports sedan was pushed to its limits on an unrestricted section of the German highway, so no speed laws were broken during the making of this video.
As an M5 E28 built for the European market, it has more power than its American counterpart. The inline-six naturally aspirated M88/3 made 282 hp on the Old Continent. The S38B35 used in the US had to make do with 256 hp. With 340 Nm (250 lb-ft) on tap, the Euro-spec M5 needed just six and a half seconds to reach 62 mph (100 km/h) from a standstill.
Flat out, it could reach 152 mph (245 km/h). This M5 E28 didn’t quite hit its claimed top speed during the Autobahn drive. Even so, for such an old car, it still effortlessly reached nearly 143 mph (230 km/h). It’s no surprise, given how well BMW has maintained the performance sedan over the years. It looks like it just rolled off the assembly line, even though it was built in the mid-1980s.
With an engine derived from the M1 supercar and low production numbers, it’s easy to understand why it’s such a desirable car. BMW produced only 2,241 units at a time when their designs were universally appreciated. With no big screens facing you, the M5 E28 with its driver-oriented cockpit was an invitation to just drive.
The M5 E28 is a reminder of BMW’s heydays and the many special cars that followed in the subsequent decades. In 2024, the new M5 G90 is an entirely different animal. It’s much larger and heavier than all the M5s before it, but at least you can still put it in rear-wheel drive mode. Continuing the positive thinking, with the G99, BMW has brought back the M5 Touring, so not everything is doom and gloom. The manual gearbox died in the M5 many moons ago but you can still get an M3 with three pedals. We can say the same for the M2 and M4, along with the Z4 M40i.
Source: AutoTopNL / YouTube
