The BMW M5 is a legendary nameplate. 35 years ago, BMW Motorsport created this high-performance sedan. It continues to define the sports sedan segment with every successive generation. To celebrate this milestone, BMW are producing just 350 specially equipped cars. These will be (not very imaginatively) called the M5 Edition 35 Years.
The basis of the M5 Edition 35 Years is the M5 Competition of the current F90/G30 generation. Interestingly, the M5 Competition Edition of the previous F10 generation was even rarer, with just 200 units made. But I digress.
Performance is shared with the M5 Competition, so you get a big, burly 4.4L V8 engine with M TwinPower Turbo Technology in front. This sends a maximum of 625hp and 750Nm of torque to all wheels (or just the rear in some circumstances) through the M xDrive system. The rear axle comes with an Active M Differential. The car will move from 0-100km/h in just 3.3 seconds.
What’s ACTUALLY Unique about This Model
- Frozen Dark Grey metallic rims
- 20″ M light alloy in Y spoke design
- High gloss black callipers on standard M brakes/ gold finish on ceramic brakes
- Graphite Grey exclusive body colour
- M multifunction seats
- BMW Individual Merino full leather trim in black, beige contrast seams
- Aluminium carbon structure gold anodised trim pieces
- M5 Edition 35 Jahre on door sills
- Individually numbered lasing inscription on cupholders
A 35 Year Summary of the M5
With its technology and design, the BMW M5 Edition 35 Years provides a particularly authentic embodiment of the philosophy on which the concept of the high-performance sedan is based. The engine, power transmission, suspension and design of the BMW M5 have always formed a carefully harmonised package. Constant engine power delivery across a wide engine speed range is just as much a hallmark feature as the car’s agile and safe handling properties on the road, its thrilling driving dynamics on the race track and its stylishly understated appearance.
Even the first generation of the BMW M5 was remarkably inconspicuous, with an appearance that seemed virtually identical to the basic model. This made its engine properties all the more spectacular. The in-line 6-cylinder engine, taken from the BMW M1 and slightly modified, delivered 210 kW/286 hp – 9 hp more than in the legendary mid-engine sports car due to optimised digital engine electronics. “The suspension must always be faster than the engine” – this was the guiding principle for BMW M automobiles at the time, which was why the BMW M5 was given a tightened sports suspension and a high-performance brake system in addition to a reinforced five-speed transmission and a differential lock in the rear axle transmission with a 25 per cent locking effect.
The second generation of the BMW M5 also featured a stylish look: it initially went on the road with an output of 232 kW/315 hp and from 1992 onwards with 250 kW/340 hp. It now included such features as a standard self-levelling suspension on the rear axle to ensure the characteristic balance between race track performance and supreme everyday comfort.
In the third generation of the BMW M5 launched in 1998, the two now typical twin rear exhaust pipes first provided a discreet indication of the model’s outstanding engine performance. In addition, the V8 engine with 294 kW/400 hp now required considerably enlarged cooling air inlets at the front.
The fourth edition of the BMW M5 featured an impressive engine that was even more spectacular than before: a 10-cylinder power unit derived from Formula 1 developed a maximum output of 373 kW/507 hp. In addition, the V10 took the high-revving concept of the M engines to a new extreme – with more than 8 000 rpm and a highly impressive sound.
With the return to the V8 engine in the fifth generation of the BMW M5, 2011 also saw the introduction of turbo technology. Two turbochargers arranged in the V space between the cylinder benches and a cross-cylinder-bench exhaust manifold were the highlights of the high-revving engine with an output of 412 kW/560 hp, whose power was tamed among other things by 7-speed dual-clutch transmission and an Active Differential Lock at the rear axle. The sixth and latest chapter of the BMW M5 success story is once again defined by a V8 engine. With the new power unit, output is increased to 441 kW/600 hp – in the BMW M5 Competition to as high as 460 kW/625 hp. For the first time, the intelligent all-wheel drive system M xDrive contributes to ensuring that engine power goes onto the road with maximum supremacy. It introduces a whole new level of driving dynamics and ensures that the latest and most powerful BMW M5 is easy for the driver to control – even when driven in sporty style and at high output levels.
