Why the BMW ///M5 Is My All Time Favourite Car.

Why you might be wondering is the BMW M5 my all time favourite car? Why, am I, an 18 year old on the internet who has definitely never driven any of these cars writing something like this? And why is the ferocious twin-turbocharged F10 M5:

F10 M5

……not included in the primary photo?

Well, I’ll come back to that last point a little later on.

So why is my favourite car of all time a four-door saloon car that looks like a taxi, and has a big boot? Especially when both Audi and Mercedes offer brilliant equivalents.

I’ve liked cars for a very long time. That sounds really annoying and stupid coming from an 18 year old, I know. The reason I say for a very long time is because this is the first car I remember making me want to learn about what cars really are.

I know that the majority of people just see cars as big metal boxes on 4 wheels. They primarily use them to go from one destination to another. They often put some of their things in them which they move from one place to another. They also use them to move other people around too. They like to sometimes put their things in another smaller box that is on sometimes more or even less wheels to move and carry things around behind. It’s a very good idea. Very useful.

I’m not saying that these are bad things, they are in fact very good. It’s what cars are for, transportation.

M535i

In 1980 BMW launched this, the BMW M535i. This is where it all began. This was the 3rd car to come from ///M, BMW’s Motorsport division/department, whatever you like to call it, it doesn’t matter. Before the M535i they put out the 3.0 CLS, but more importantly, the M1.

M1

That car there, that’s the M1. There aren’t many left today, although, there were not many in the first place. Only 453 M1’s were ever made. You see, the 3.0 CSL and this car, the M1. These were not ‘mass produced’ if that’s an appropriate term. I don’t know. I’m just writing what’s coming from inside. But you see, these two cars were limited-production cars, they were sports cars built with a purpose. The M535i however, that’s a different story…

You see, it was just an oh so slightly doctored 5 series with an oh so slightly different engine from the M1. It had the BMW M90 as opposed to the M88/1. It was a family saloon car with essentially the same engine you’d find in a full-on sports car. It brought a lot of the power and dynamics to the comfort of getting from one place to another in an ordinary fashion. It didn’t matter whether you had 3 people with 3 big bags of luggage on their way to a meeting in a hurry, or if you were taking some friends and family out for the day. It brought the feel and drive of a sports car to the familiarity of the ideal world.

E28 M5

Four years later the E28 M5 made its first ever appearance at the Amsterdam Motor Show. It was born out of question and desire for what the M535i bought to BMW and the rest of the motoring world. It was a sharper, more powerful M535i. It had a newer version of the M535i’s body-kit, despite still having the 535’s chassis.

Production began in Europe in 1985 and made it’s way to North America the following year. A total of 2,191 M5’s were made.

The M5 had a 3.5 litre straight six producing 286 horsepower, which in 1985 must of been absolutely crazy. I remember watching Chris Harris on YouTube talking about his ‘86 M5. Just reading how it had 286 horsepower and re-reading everything because he didn’t believe it, all of which I can believe and understand.

After the E28 M5 we saw the E34 and then in 1998 came the E39.

The E39 M5 was the first M5 to come with eight cylinders. Two more than the previous M5. It was a major step up in the automotive world. A comfortable four-door family saloon car with 400 horsepower. Crazy is the word.

When the E39 was produced back in 1998, it was the first to come with a V8. It had a 4.9 litre naturally aspirated engine with 400 horsepower. After this made it’s appearance things really started to change. It was a real contender, not only for Mercedes, but more track oriented sports cars. It was then that things really started to take shape. Chris had one of those too.

In 2005 however, this is where I think BMW were at their best.

This is the BMW E60 M5.

This, like all previous M5’s is a car that will take 4 people and their luggage, in comfort, to their destination whether it be 2 or 2000 miles away. Like all previous M5’s it can handle itself on fast, twisting roads, or even the nearest racing track. And like all previous M5’s, it’s as unsuspecting as a London taxi.

Unlike the old M5 however, it has a 5.0 litre naturally aspirated 507 horsepower V10. Unlike the old M5 it has a semi-automatic flappy-paddle gear box & electronic differential.

And unlike the old M5…….it will crack 200 miles per hour. That, in a family saloon car, is f*cking absurd!

So, a quick summary of why the M5, more specifically the E60 M5 is my all time favourite car…

It is part of a legacy of an extraordinary example of what happens when you take a simple idea and take it to and beyond it’s expectations. It is a car that can be used as a family saloon, but at the push of a button, can dominate a race track and then drive away peacefully with all it’s pride and glory. It’s a car that brought us up to date with technology and has used it to emphasize what it can do, not to, but with, a car like this. The M5 has always been, a fantastic, car.

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…………….but what about the F10???
Can I even think of something to write???
Should I even need to try? What with all it’s power and user friendliness???

It’s an M5, right???

Well, in my opinion……….not really.

Remember the blog post I made about the Veyron?

Yeah, that one.

And remember how I talked about the One:1? The fact that is was faster..and more powerful? And I finished by pointing out how although is was great in every, I guess ‘measurable way’. I know I didn’t say that at the time, but the point still stands.

I just feel like the new F10 M5 has been made to sell. Not to enthusiasts, just to anyone who wants a fast family car. I get that, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

But the new M5 is turbo charged, and has a smaller engine. The big gain with the M5 was that is was always improving and made no sacrifices. It was still modest and still had character. It looked like an M5, it sounded like one, and was one.

The F10 just doesn’t give off the same emotions. I mean look at it…

Of course it’s understated, it’s an M5. I just think that it’s so clinical. It lacks character. I’ve always found the noise a car makes tells you who the car really is and what it’s about. But I just think that this, the F10 M5 is, well….sh*t.

It may be a good car, but to me at least, it’s not an M5.