5 Things You Might Not Know About The E39 M5

It was not hand-built, unlike the E34

The E34 M5 was hand-built by the BMW M division, the E39 was manufactured in Dingolfing, Germany. It was powered by the well known S62B50 4.9L V8 engine producing 400 horsepower.

There was a Touring (wagon) concept car

BMW made this concept including the E46 M3 Touring concept to show that they were able to make Estate versions of these hardcore M cars by making tiny changes to the rear suspension. It was finished in Titanium Silver with a black leather interior.

Just around 20,482 units were produced

By far most of them were left hand drive (LHD) and just 2,595 were right hand drive (RHD).

BMW never made any special edition versions of it

Unlike most other M5 generations, BMW made no E39 M5 special edition. Though, the Touring doesn’t really count since it’s a concept car.

The S62 engine is based on the M62

It has been modified by the M division. It has increased bore and stroke to 94 x 89, which increased the displacement from 4,398 cc to 4,941 cc. The compression ratio was also increased from 10.0:1 to 11.0:1.