The E39 M5 debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in 1998 and has won over the hearts of enthusiasts ever since. Many regard it to be the finest “saloon” chassis of all time. It’s almost exclusively regarded as the greatest M5 of all time. It’s not hard to see why either. The E39 M5 looked fantastic, was comfortable, handling superbly and was extremely fast. Oh, and it also came with something called a 6-Speed manual.  

The production of customer vehicles began in October 1998. Before that BMW made a large number development and pre-series vehicles. The first testing vehicles were based on the 6-speed version of the 540i, and in October of 1997 the first car with M5 identity was built. During the beginning of 1998 and through to early October over a hundred cars were made, mainly for internal use but also press cars and exhibition vehicles  
The assembly of the previous E34 model was done by hand in BMW’s plant in Garching, but the E39 production was moved to the plant of Dingolfing where the cars were assembled together with other BMWs. Only examples with very extensive options through BMW Individual were taken to Garching for final assembly. 

The cars were offered as previously in a series of M-unique colors with race inspired names. Amongst others Avusblue, Imolared II and Silverstone. Leather upholstery was a standard feauture, as on the predecessor consisting of high quality nappa leather. A large selection of paint and upholstery combinations were offered. Read more about the exterior colours and interiors in the “colours and upholstery” section, or have a look at the factory options list. 

The new M5 engine was no longer based on the 6-cylinder engine that for long had made the model famous. Now it had a 32-valve aluminium V8 with some common feautures from the already existing M62 engine out of the BMW 540i. 

 
The new M5 engine became quite a powerful piece. The maximum output of 400 hp was reached earlier than its predecessor (which had 340 hp) and even more impressive was the low and mid range torque, where 480 Nm was available already at 1900 rpm and maximum torque of 500 Nm from 3800 to 5000 rpm. 
The S62, as the engine was named, had a 4.9 liter displacement and separate, electronically controlled throttle valves for each cylinder. The camshaft operation and valve timing was controlled by a newly developed M Double-VANOS system and the engine management system was the Bosch Motronic MSS 52, developed exclusively for the M5 engine. 
Lateral force-controlled oil supply with three electronically controlled pumps ensured for an optimum lubrication of the advanced cylinder heads in all driving situations. 
The gearbox was as before still manual and 6-speed. Manufactured by Getrag and was well adapted to cope with the higher engine power. 
Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) was fitted as standard on all M5’s. The system operates electronically with systems like the ABS and ASC + T, and use parameters such as speed and steering angle, to prevent the car from losing traction. 
The chassis for the new model was BMW’s “M Sports suspension II” which was identical to that offered to other E39 V8 models with M sport package. The brake system still had the same Compounding Technology and equally large brake discs as on the last model year of the predecessor. 
 

With the relocation of the production and the ability to share more components between models, it was possible to offer the E39 M5 to a more competitive price. The 1999 M5 model actually cost less than last model year of the E34 predecessor. 
The cars were sold literally worldwide and the sales hit a new record of almost 20 500 examples produced in total. For North America there was a separate version, and for Europe and the rest of the world there was a left-hand and right hand drive version. Most cars were sold in the U.S. and in second place came the home market of Germany, closely followed by Great Britain as the third largest buyer of E39 M5s. 

For the 2001 model year there was an upgrade on the looks and technical details of the vehicles. The changes were the same as for the normal 5-series. Upgraded xenon head lamps (white turn indicators as before) and four separate parking light rings were introduced. The tail lights adapted the jeweled design from the E38 7-series. The steering wheel was changed to a smaller and thicker 3-spoke M-variant with airbag and multifunction buttons, same as on the E46 M3. 
As an option a new navigator screen was offered, 6.5 inches wide, and PDC (park distance control) was now being sold as a package for both the front and rear bumper (previously only on the rear). The options regarding the car audio system were improved with the introduction of the hi-fi system Individual High End Audio (ordering code 752), which was an upgrade of the previous Professional DSP system. 

Later some new exterior colors were offered for the 2002 models. Antracite metallic was replaced by Sterlinggrey metallic, Royalred with Chiarettored and Bluewater metallic replaced the popular Silverstone colour. The interior options remained unchanged (except US models, who had a limited list of leather interiors after the 2000 model year) and no additional major changes were made before the last car was manufactured in June of 2003. 

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The following numbers of E39 M5 were made in total: 

DE91: 7895 LHD vehicles (in general for the European market and Japan) 10/1997 – 06/2003 

DE92: 2595 st RHD vehicles (for Great Britain, Australia, South Africa etc.) 10/1998 – 05/2003 
 
DE93: 9992 LHD vehicles (United States, Canada and Puerto Rico) 03/1999 – 06/2003 

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Production data – model years  LHD/DE91: 

 Model year:               Number of cars made: 

1999                                 3197 

2000                                 2237 

2001                                  1461 

2002                                  744 

2003                                  256 
 
 
More on the E39 M5 model years 

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Engine data S62B49 

Cylinders/valves: 8/4 

Capacity: 4941 ccm 

Stroke: 89,0 mm / Bore: 94,0 mm 

Compression ratio: 11,0:1 

Max. power output: 400 hk (ECE) / 6600 rpm 

Maximum torque: 500 Nm (ECE) /3800 rpm 

Highest rpm: 7000 

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Gearbox / differential 

6-speed manual gearbox (Getrag S6S 420G) 
 
Gearing: 4.227/2.528/1.669/1.226/1.000/0.828 
 
Differential: 3,15 (LSD) 
 
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Performance:  

Drag coefficient (Cw): 0,287 (Rüdiger C.) 

0-100 km/h: 5,3 s (factory data) 

0-200 km/h: 16,9 s (Sport Auto 07/2001) 

0-1000 m: 24,1 s (factory data) 

Top speed: 250 km/h (electronically limited) 

Top speed de-limited (not possible from the factory): 296 km/h 
 
Breaking performance 100-0 km/h: 37,5/37,5 m (cold/warm) 
(Sport Auto 07/2001) 

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Measurements/weights: 

Length: 4,784 m 
 
Width: 1,800 m 
 
Height: 1,437 m 
 
Weight (standard car): 1795 kg 

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