One to Buy: Lachs Silver 1985 BMW E28 M5
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Although various four-door super saloons had come and gone during the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, they had mostly been heavy, dynamically compromised machines better suited to motorways and autoroutes than twisting country roads and mountain passes.
That changed when, from late 1979, BMW began to offer their mid-range 5-series in a package with supercar-rivalling performance: the E12-based M535i. BMW Motorsport had quietly been building uprated 5-series since 1974, but the M535i marked a turning point in that it was openly offered at every European BMW main dealer.
For the 1982 model year, the ageing E12 5-series was replaced by the new E28 variant and, in late 1984, BMW Motorsport began production of the highly anticipated new M5. With its 282bhp straight six, tuned chassis and discrete appearance, the M5 was like nothing else available direct from a mainstream European manufacturer.
Set to go under the hammer at RM Sotheby’s Munich auction on November 25th is a highly original early E28 M5.
Completed on July 3rd 1985 and supplied to its first owner by BMW Niederlassung Hamburg on September 10th, it was configured in the highly desirable shade of Lachs Silver Metallic and with the expensive full leather upholstery option plus electric front windows, an electric sunroof, central locking and an electric antenna.
Today, this handsome machine has covered a whisker under 146,000km (backed by its original book pack) and rides on a set of lovely 16-inch Alpina wheels. It is expected to realise somewhere between €70,000 and €100,000.
