The first BMW M5, based on the E28 5 Series, made its debut at Amsterdam Motor Show in February 1985. It was the product of demand for an automobile with the carrying capacity of a saloon (sedan), but the overall performance of a sports car. It utilized the 535i chassis and an evolution of the engine from the BMW M1. At its launch the E28 M5 was the fastest production saloon (sedan) in the world.
E28 M5s were handbuilt in Preußenstrasse/Munich prior to the 1986 Motorsport factory summer vacation. Thereafter, M5 production was moved to Daimlerstraße in Garching where the remainder were built by hand.
In May 1987, the keys to the 1000th car were presented to Hr and Fr Krampertz from Eichenau near Munich by Wolfgang Peter Flohr, the Director of BMW Motorsport GmbH.
The M5 was offered in four different versions. The first version was the Left Hand Drive (LHD) Euro Spec M5. The second version was the UK specification Right Hand Drive (RHD) M5. The third version was the North American Spec (NA or so-called 1988) M5. The fourth version was the South African (ZA) Spec RHD M5.
The LHD, RHD Euro Spec M5s and the ZA spec M5s had the M88/3 powerplant which delivered 286 bhp DIN (210 kW) whereas the North American 1988 M5 was equipped with a catalytic converter, which reduced the power output to 256 bhp DIN (191 kW).
Performance
At the time of sale, BMW quoted the following (relatively poor) 0-60 times to give the impression that the E28 M5 did not outperform the more expensive and heavier E24 M635csi.
(Euro) – 286 bhp 0-60 mph – 6.2 s. Top Speed: 153 mph
(USA) – 256 bhp 0-60 mph – 6.5 s. Top Speed: 148 mph
Special versions (Hartge)
Whilst BMW Motorsport did not build any special versions of the E28 M5, the German tuner Hartge produced the Hartge H35S-24, a 330 PS (325 hp/243 kW) version of the E28 M5. Main modifications over and above the standard E28 M5 were revised cams, a modified exhaust, modified Motronic ECU programming and a revised (and lowered) suspension setup.
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