In the early 1980s, BMW CEO Eberhard von Kuenheim drove a BMW 745i with turbo. His bodyguards drove the BMW 5 Series vehicles, which meant that the men were rarely able to keep pace with their own boss. They informed Paul Rosche of the problem. The engineer admitted that this should not be the case and undertook a redesign of the bodyguards’ Fives. The secret was in the subtlety with which Rosche approached the subject. He left the cars untouched on the outside, but put suitably powerful engines, almost the same as powered BMW M1 supercar, under the bonnets. There was a buzz around the sports sedans… for the time being, only at BMW. It turned out that bodyguards are among those who dream to see themselves behind the wheel of civilian racers. So, they took a decision in the boardroom: the BMW M5 makes sense and gets the green light. Thus, the second full-fledged ’M’ in BMW’s history was born.

The M5 seen in the photos is in its original condition, with no upgrades. The cassette radio, the wheels, the fabric upholstery – everything is in place and looks as it did the day it left the factory. The car came into the collection in 2020, by which time a Porsche collector had been using it for everyday driving around Augsburg. When he finally decided to part with it, the odometer showed 114000 km of mileage. One could not miss such an opportunity, especially when the search had been going on for a long time.

– When I was looking for this model, I set my sights on copies in their original state of preservation and with a mileage of up to 100000 km. It turned out that the E28 cars had disappeared from the face of the earth, especially the ones in the original condition, and there was nothing to choose from.

After three or even four years of search efforts, it was possible to acquire a BMW M5 E28 not only in exceptionally good condition, but with full documentation and a completely transparent history. An additional highlight of this M5 is the checkered upholstery. The long-disliked pattern is nowadays more sought after than leather upholstery. This is one of 580 units produced for the European market. The car required no overhaul after purchase, all that it needed was simply a good maintenance treatment.

If we say ‘lucky’ here, this is no exaggeration. E28s have not had an easy life. Modified, tormented, pushed to the limits of technical feasibility, they became almost extinct. As time passed and prices fell, the E28 proved to be a favourite of juvenile drifters. The festival of lowering suspensions, replacing rims, exhausts and pushing the gas to the limit began. The M5 – clad in a whole host of extras – might have commanded respect at the evening school, but from a collector’s point of view it was finished. Add the fact that hardly anyone took care of add-ons of decent quality and beauty and you get a complete picture of the E28’s ‘second youth’. It is a bleak picture, with an epilogue usually written in junkyards.

The nail in the coffin turned out to be the appearance of the car. Or to be more precise, the lack of distinctive features (apart from the ‘M’ badge on the boot lid and another on the air intake). In the eyes of potentially interested parties, it was an ordinary sedan, looking like a 524-td model, which certainly did not add prestige.

Unjustly underrated, it became appreciated years later. People remembered that it was the M5 E28 that was the first BMW (next to the E24) to fit the 286-horsepower, 3.5-litre M88 engine from the M1. The unit had, admittedly, undergone modifications since the M1, but these were useful changes.

Production of the E28 ended in 1988, proudly replaced by the E34.