The E39 M5: The Best BMW Ever Made? Driving a 630-Horsepower Supercharged Legend

This is a BMW E39 M5. And to many people — including plenty of people who have driven every other M car — it is the best M5 ever built. Possibly one of the best BMWs, full stop.

Bizarrely, I’d never driven one. Every other M5, yes. This one, no. So when the opportunity came up to not just drive one but drive a very special one, I took it. Because I’m thinking about buying one of these. And if you are too, this video is going to explain what you need to look out for. Also: move fast. Values are going up.

This particular car is rather special. I’ll explain why in a moment.

A Quick History Lesson

The first M5 was the E28, launched in 1984. Then came the E34 in 1988. Then, ten years later in 1998, we got this: the E39 M5. Built from 1998 to 2003.

The price when new was £52,000. These days you can pick up a ratty one for around £20,000. A good one is about £40,000. And this one here is probably worth about the same as it was new. Possibly more.

The Engine: A Beast, Even by Modern Standards

This was the first time BMW used a V8 in its M5. Every previous one had a straight-six. And what an engine it was. A 4.9-litre unit producing 400 horsepower and 500 Newton metres of torque. Comparable Mercedes and Audis at the time had about 350 horsepower. Zero to 60 took 5.3 seconds.

But this one is quicker. Because it’s fitted with a Rotrex centrifugal supercharger.

Normally you’d have an intercooler up front for the supercharger. But they didn’t want to cut into the body panels. So it was fitted down on the side instead. The pressurised air then goes into this intake plenum — made from billet aluminium, and absolutely gorgeous. The reason it’s made from that stuff is because the normal plenum would actually shatter under all the boost pressure.

The result of this upgrade, plus a full exhaust system and an ECU remap, is 630 horsepower and 700 Newton metres of torque.

Oh yes. This is an absolute beast. As we’ll find out when I drive it.

The Exterior: Discreet but Special

At the front, the major change over the standard 5 Series is the more aggressive front bumper. And for the geeks among us: the chrome surround for the kidney grille. Look how small these kidneys are. They’re tiny compared to modern BMWs.

There’s one other thing worth mentioning. This car has the facelifted model’s headlights, so the car was updated in 2001. That included some special daytime running lights known as corona lights — though that name’s not quite so popular today for reasons we all understand.

Here’s proof that modern cars are a lot larger than they used to be. This M5 is actually 18 centimetres shorter than the current M5, and six centimetres lower. It’s a lot more discreet as well. It just has the normal 5 Series body — no flared wheel arches like the current car.

There are some additions, though. Side skirts. M badging on the side. M-specific door mirrors. M alloy wheels — though the wheels on this particular car are very specialist BBS LMs, and they’re 19 inches rather than the standard 18s. These wheels are very expensive and very hard to get your hands on.

At the back, styling upgrades include a discrete body-colour boot lip spoiler, M5 badging, a sculpted bumper. But the standout feature is the quad exhaust pipes — though these are upgraded Evolve exhausts.

Still, this car is definitely much more of a sleeper than the current M5.

The Gearbox and Chassis

The E39 M5 was only available with a six-speed manual gearbox. You couldn’t get an automatic. It’s the other way around nowadays, isn’t it?

To cope with the extra power, BMW fitted a beefier clutch than the standard 540i. It also had a rear limited-slip differential with up to 25% locking — good for drifts.

The M5 had upgraded brakes over the standard 5 Series: 345-millimetre discs up front, 328-millimetre discs at the back. Floating discs, lighter than the standard car’s, giving improved ride quality and better traction on bumpy roads. That said, the brakes weren’t all that good, so these have been upgraded. Brembo brakes with four-piston calipers.

The Interior: Peak BMW Quality

The early 2000s was definitely peak BMW in terms of quality. The materials are lovely. All the controls have beautiful weight and damping. The buttons are solid. And it’s all simple and easy to use.

There are things of its time, like the wood veneer. You didn’t have to have wood veneer — you could have a metallic-looking plastic trim, which I’d probably prefer.

And look at this old infotainment screen. The graphics are so old-fashioned. But it’s got television. It doesn’t actually work because it runs on the old RF system, and all television signals are now digital. Oh well. We do have a cassette player though, so long as you’ve got some cassettes.

Then there’s this. Listen to the sound the door makes when you shut it.

New BMWs don’t make that sound. That heavy, reassuring clunk.

Upgrades for the M5 include this M Sport steering wheel with the M badge, M stitching, and normal girth — unlike modern BMWs, which are like holding a bicycle tyre, they’re so fat. Electric M Sport seats. M gear knob. And when you turn the headlights on, it illuminates various features. You get M on the sills and M-specific dials with those LED lights that extend your red line when the engine is cold, then slowly let you have more revs as it warms up, until you’re allowed the full 7,000 RPM.

Being a car from the Northeast, you have an ashtray. And I love the way this just pops up, rises up. And of course — not a 12-volt charging port, but a cigarette lighter.

I’m not so impressed by the cup holders. What are these going to hold? They’re flimsy and very shallow. They’re not going to hold anything, especially nothing when you start accelerating with the amount of performance this car has.

The M5 also got upgraded suspension: M-specific springs, dampers, thicker anti-roll bars, different wheel carriers, stiffer ball joints, and heavy-duty bushings. This car has had a full suspension refresh, including Bilstein suspension.

In the back, there aren’t any real noticeable differences from the normal E39 5 Series. That means it’s comfy. Knee room is okay. You do have features back here you don’t get in the M3 — ashtrays, more of those flimsy cup holders. You have a sort of tri-zone climate control because you can change the temperature for the vents in the back.

And the boot capacity is 410 litres, which is actually 120 litres smaller than the current 5 Series.

What to Look Out For

If you’re thinking about buying one of these old M5s, as well as your usual vehicle history check and making sure you’ve got a full service history, there are a couple of key things to look out for.

The first is a suspension overhaul. You’re going to need it between 60,000 and 100,000 miles.

But the main one is the engine. You need to listen out for tapping. Now, tapping from the engine can just mean the cam chain tensioner needs replacing — that’s fairly cheap. What it can also mean though is there’s a problem with the dual VANOS unit. That controls the timing on the inlet and exhaust camshafts. If the seals are going inside that unit, or there’s another problem, it can be very, very expensive to fix.

Driving It: The Verdict

First time driving an E39 M5. Even when you’re just pottering along, it makes a lovely noise. Obviously this one’s been enhanced with that upgraded Evolve exhaust, but there’s just a lovely, thrummy sound.

Big surprise for me: the gearshift. Now, I remember BMW’s manual gearboxes being all rubbery and rubbish. This one though? It’s short. It’s tight. It’s precise. It’s nice.

The clutch is solid enough without being too spongy or too hard. They’ve got it just right. And so too with the pedal position — you can heel-and-toe in this car. So I’ll just pointlessly brake even though I don’t need to.

Whoa. The responsiveness of this engine is so good. That’s one of the great things about supercharging compared to turbocharging: it really doesn’t alter the throttle response all that much over the car being naturally aspirated. It’s so linear, and the power keeps building, building, building, building, all the way to the red line.

Okay, I found a nice straight bit of road. Let’s do a pull away. I’m not going to do a full-on launch.

Oh my God. That’s awesome.

The harder you rev it, the more it rewards you. I love this setup. It’s so good.

What’s also good is the suspension. This car is pretty much as new — in fact, it’s better than new, because not only has it got all new bushings and refreshed suspension, this suspension is upgraded. It’s so smooth over bumps. It really deals with them so well. It feels completely planted.

It’s quite an easy car to drive as well, because visibility is so good. Obviously pillars were a bit thinner back in the day — less crash protection.

Another thing: the steering. It’s a bit odd in this car. The reason being that because the V8 is so big, BMW couldn’t fit the normal rack-and-pinion steering from the standard 5 Series. So it’s got recirculating-ball steering. And while it’s precise, it lacks feel.

Other than that though, the way this thing goes into corners is really quite impressive. There’s a little bit of body lean compared to the very latest M5, but it just hooks up nicely. You’ve got loads of grip, and the traction is actually pretty good.

Coming out of a bend, just applying throttle — whoa. Oh, the way that power builds.

I’m impressed with how it’s putting the power down on this greasy road. What an amazing car. I can’t believe it’s like 20 years old. It’s so nice.

Final Thoughts

The E39 M5 deserves its reputation. It’s not the fastest M5 anymore. It’s not the most technologically advanced. But it might be the most complete. The one that best balances power, poise, comfort, and character. The one that still feels special every time you drive it.

And this particular example — supercharged, sorted, immaculate — is on another level entirely. 630 horsepower in a car that looks like a slightly sporty executive sedan. That’s the magic of the E39 M5. It doesn’t shout. It just delivers.

If you’re in the market, move quickly. Values are climbing. And cars like this don’t come around often.