If the subject is sport sedans, there's no avoiding the BMW M5. It's king of the asphalt jungle and lord of all speed and time. The BMW M5 didn't just rewrite the book on sedan performance; it ripped off the covers, shredded the pages and cracked the binding.
The genesis of the BMW M5 starts back in the 1970s when BMW developed the legendary 3.5CSL "Batmobile" for touring car racing. To make that car competitive, the BMW Motorsport ("M") division devised the "M49" 3.5-liter DOHC 24-valve inline six-cylinder engine. A few years later, the M49 was modified to become the M88 for use in the M1 midengine supercar in 1978 with the addition of fuel injection. When the M1 ended its brief production run, there was the M88 and no car for it to go in. First the M6 coupe and then the BMW M5 would solve that dilemma.
The formula for the M6 coupe (called the M635CSi in Europe) and BMW M5 sedan was identical — except for the body. Starting with the 1983 model year, the M Division took "E24" 6 Series coupes off BMW's regular production line and massaged them by hand. Into the engine bay went a slightly evolved version of the M1's M88 engine making 286 horsepower and backed by a five-speed manual transmission. The chassis was beefed for high-performance duty and oversize wheels and tires were fitted. In 1985, that same procedure was applied to the "E28" 5 Series four-door sedan to create the M5.
But it wasn't until 1987 that the M6 made it to America, and 1988 when we got the BMW M5 with a detuned M88 called the S88. But even then, the performance of the first BMW M5 and M6 was scintillating.
That first BMW M5 was in production just one year. But a second six-cylinder M5 appeared in Europe for 1989 (and came to America in 1991). The third M5, based on the E39 5 Series, showed up for 1998 with a 400-hp 5.0-liter V8 under its hood. And the fourth E60 topped that, with a 500-hp V10 propelling it at its 2006 debut.
