[mobilecentre]

As others have said the E39 was the car of its day, my first M5 in 2001 was an E39 in Sterling Grey



Used about a litre of oil every 1000 miles and I used it as it was designed as a daily driver putting lots of miles on it which to me is what the M5 should be able to deliver. The car was just starting to get electronics but still raw.

Stolen in 2003, recovered in 2004 and still on the road today

[Kstoff125]

It’s a nostalgia thing for sure. The E39 is a cool car, but it’s about as fast as a 2024 Chrysler Pacifica. And as the video states, it’s not as light as people make it out to be.

In terms of driving experience, yes it’s visceral, but an F90 or G90 (or any other m5 gen) is visceral in a different way.

The speed alone of an F90/G90 makes the car as engaging to drive as an e39.

The fact that the f90 CS weighs the same as the e39 is scary…it only has ~250hp more.

Just my opinion, which probably wasn’t worth the time it took to type this, but it’s late and P1 at Suzuki just got over, results as expected 🤪.

[Kaizer84]

Originally Posted by KevinM

I celebrated my 20th anniversary with my E39 M5 last December. It is still my favorite overall car. While I can understand that anyone who is used to modern BMWs and has the opportunity to drive the E39 M5 for 30 min (or even a day) would be underwhelmed, the car is an icon for a number of reasons in my biased opinion.

1. While it is not fast by today's standards, I cannot stress how special this car was when it finally came to the US for MY 2000. Even when I purchased mine in 2004, it was amazingly fast for the time. The fact that it sat 5 people comfortably at this level of performance and was manual transmission only was amazing. I don't street race and don't condone it, but 20+ years ago I *may* have been less mature and *may* have taken the bait from a few contemporary Corvettes, etc, to 40 MPH. . I have cars with both turbocharged and naturally aspirated engines. Both have their merits. That said, second gear in a the S62 engine is a complete joy.

2. The "whole package" is one that I have tried to but cannot replicate in another car. It is fast, luxurious, has a supple but alive suspension (don't get me going about my previous F80 M3C with its 20" wheels..) and is one of the last M5s to be a true Q-ship/"wolf-in-sheep's clothing," etc. I don't like attention, and like that only a few people know the boring grey sedan is actually a performance car (back in the day anyway). With the quad exhaust, front spoiler and chrome shadow style 65 wheels, there is balance between the normal E39 body and the M version that I find perfect.

3. While [...]

Those who may have not been of age when the E39 came out just do not understand the impact it had and how stealthy and complete of an M car it was and still is. That v8 plus manual and the power at that time was simply unreal. Not something you can understand through posts on the internet. What a time it was to be alive.

[dbru]

When ya'll gonna realize that cars are now like computers. What you buy today will be worthless in 5 years. People will only care about the technology in it. Wish it wasn't true but it's a fact.

[mobilecentre]

IIRC when E39 M5 was launched it was the worlds fastest four door saloon

[mobilecentre]

Originally Posted by Kaizer84

Those who may have not been of age when the E39 came out just do not understand the impact it had and how stealthy and complete of an M car it was and still is. That v8 plus manual and the power at that time was simply unreal. Not something you can understand through posts on the internet. What a time it was to be alive.

If you look at my picture you will see in the middle of the roundel the hole I drilled to fit a back up camera which was not even an option

[da_guenz]

E39 - epic and classic lines :-)

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by dbru

When ya'll gonna realize that cars are now like computers. What you buy today will be worthless in 5 years. People will only care about the technology in it. Wish it wasn't true but it's a fact.

Wrong!

[Tari]

Best M5 is E60