2007 e60 m5 6MT Interlagos Blue; RPI Oil Cooler and Scoops; DINAN High Flow Air Mass Meter and Intake, DINAN 3.91 diff, DINAN strut, DINAN software, DINAN High Flow Middle Racing Exhaust (secondary cat delete) with 3.5" Resonators, DINAN Free Flow Section 3 Exhaust, DINAN 19x9 ET18, 19x10 ET25, Michelin PSS 255/40/19 and 305/30/19, Macht Schnell 15mm spacers (front); Motul RBF 660; Hawk HT-10s pads; RDSport/StopTech BBK 380mm/35mm x 380mm/32mm, RD Sport Front and Rear sways; CKS coils w/swift springs; z3 1.9L SSK, with f10 shifter; Escort RedLine hardwired and Bel STiR+ coming. 81,000 miles with no RCOD and counting...
2000 e39 m5 TiAg; PSS9 Coilover; AA Intake/Tune and sink drains; Custom Britalman exhaust (just now retired from my daily driver duties and on loan with my retired Pops!)
1988 e28 m5 STROKER (Paul Burke s38b38); The one that started it all; the one I'll never sell...Euro Headers, custom Ground Control Coilovers undergoing full Euro restoration.
1996 FZJ 80; TRD Supercharger; Expo/Overland/Backcountry Rig; custom sleeper/drawer system, full rock armor, 33"s on 2.5" OME Heavy Lift.
2008 Audi A3 S-Line Quattro (Mammoth Mountain Commuter)
The overwhelming popularity of the E39 M5 spawned a generation of imitators trying to achieve the same formula of success. You can see the aftermath of this as every major car manufacturer is focusing on the sports sedan market segment to develop a 4-door super sedan to rival the M5.
The other cars on the list are simply sports cars that are expected to be fast and expensive but impractical for daily use. The M5 was unexpected for its time merging family sedan practicality with Nürburgring-tested motorsports performance.
Great find!
+1. If the E39 M5 were not as good as it was, and still is, there would not be a CTS-V, a supercharged CTS-V, Audi RS4; and so on.
The E39 M5 justly belongs at the top of the list, as it is one of only 2 cars; the other being the first M5, that can do DD duty, and hold their one on the track as well.
The best car is the one you want to drive and can live with every day.
The appeal for the E39 M5 is timeless and I've found both young and old love this car once they ride in it. Get an enthusiast who has never driven one in the dirver's seat and they are truly amazed at the level of performance of an over 10 year old car. What surprises me the most is how few people really know what the M5 is and can do. It's definitely a stealth hotrod that handles like a race car, is very comfortable and downright luxurious for everyday driving, you can haul around the kids in the back seat, and is relatively reliable for a high performance car. As a lifelong Porsche 911, 912 and Corvette guy I would be hesitant about buying either with over 100,000 miles on it regardless of the maintenance history, but not with the Beast!
Agreed, the list is a bit of a mish-mash, and someone mentioned the M5 being the only daily driver that combined sport and practicality...the others are sports/race/exotics. It reminds me of the kid in college with the lambo/ferrari/mcclaren posters...beautiful, crazy expensive...but so out of reach to be impractical for frequent use, let alone affordable.
The M5 really is a car that no one has been able to duplicate, and so far ahead of its time. Take the Japanese cars of today...the Infiniti's for example, can go head to head with many of the German cars...but in '99...they were rebadged Nissan's! There was nothing that touched the E39 back then, and to best it now requires astrobucks.
__________________
e60 ssk, zhp knob, brake ducts, ate super gold, ate brake shoes, pagid yellow rs19, pagid blue, titanium backing plates, dinan rsb, mk4 gps, vxx ae, brushed aluminum trim swap, gp2, bell sa2010, sparco tornado, sparco speed+ racing, 3mm front spacers, turner 32mm bolts, x5 thrust arm bushings, OE 9.5" squared 275/35/18 dunlop direzza zii, OE staggered 245/40-275/35/18 direzza z1 star spec, staggered style 66 on 235-245/45/17 blizzak ws70, pentosin mtf2, liqui moly 10w60, mobil1 0w40, ground control camber plates, bilstein b8 monotube dampers, intrax of holland racing springs*tbi
**********************
dynojet 319ft-lb, 341whp, 13.51@104.3 englishtown, lime rock 1'09.9", lightning 1'23.420", thunderbolt 1'44.2", watkins glen *tbd, secret menu maf test, 138+ 2nd gear
**********************
Favorite Quote: "Understeer is when you hit the wall with your front end. Oversteer is when you hit the wall with your back end. Horsepower is how hard you hit the wall. Torque is how far you move the wall when you hit it. "
3Likes
with no RCOD and counting... 
I do my part to dust Panamera and CL/CLS off my bumper every other day.
"
Linear Mode
