Last week’s E34 M5 Double Take left many feeling a little cold; sure, they were both neat cars, but the general consensus was that both were probably at least a bit (or a lot) overpriced. While finding another good M5 in the marketplace can be difficult, if you’re willing to forgo the M badge – or at least part of it – there are great options in the E34 market. One of the neatest is arguably the Canadian market M540i. Only 32 of these special 5 series were produced, all with a 6-speed manual 540i basis. But the special M5 details that were added created a defacto M car that is very special indeed. The M Adaptive suspension was fit, along with the floating M5 brake system featuring 13.6″ front brakes hidden not well under the equally massive 18″ M Parallel wheels. Outside there was M tech pieces front, sides and rear, matched inside by the M cloth. So exclusive were these M540is that there were only two options offered; a CD changer and ASC traction control.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1995 BMW M540i on Kijiji
Year: 1995
Model: M540i
Engine: 4.0 liter V8
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Mileage: 220,000 km (136,702 mi)
Price: Can. $12,000 ($9,235 U.S.)
This is a very well maintained rare BMW. There are only 32 of these examples in the world.
4.0L, 282HP, 295lb-ft V8
6 Speed Manual
18″ ///M-Parallel Spoke Wheels
Huge ///M 345mm full floating front rotors
Real Carbon Fiber Trim w/Red Weave.
///M-Cloth/Alcantera Seats.European M5 chassis with a 4.0l V8 created by BMW M exclusively for Canada.
All service records are current from Calgary BMW Gallery from day 1 to recent.
Barely anyone has sat in the passenger seat or the rear seats.
Upgrades:
Dinan Intake Tubes
Dinan Chip
SuperSprint Full Exhaust
Koni Adj Yellow Shocks
Bilstein CoilsRecent Replacements from Calgary BMW Gallery:
New Driveshaft inc. centre bearing
New rear dog bones
New steering drag link
New steering wheel outer
New shift knobExtras:
2 Front Car Bra (Custom)Needs to be driven and a good home!
Condition certainly appears to be great; upgrades are innocent enough and generally desirable items, along with recent maintenance. The color combination of black over the M cloth is classic, and the M Parallels really set these E34s off. Sure, owning one of these ultra-rare E34s will mean that there will be some knob at a show who accuses you of sticking a M badge on the back, but what they don’t know is to your advantage. While the asking price on the similar condition ’92 M5 was $17,500, with 50,000 miles less, this even more exclusive M540i is on offer at below $10,000 U.S.. To me, that’s an awful lot of car for not a lot of money.
Thanks to our reader Toshihiko for the great spot!
-Carter
Yep, I’d love to get this, but my E39 540i 6sp has my full attention.
Sure. But how do you get it into the States sooner than 5 years from now?
The ’95 540i Msport was the same car as this, but badged as a 540I M-Sport, here in the States, not M540i. They both belong to the production run of (I believe) 135 six-speed cars. There were 70 or so automatics.
So importing it wouldn’t be an issue.
Hmmm. This is in my city. Wonder if he’d wanna trade for my 1990 E34 M5 euro spec 🙂
I’ve been fortunate enough to have owned 2 e34 M5’s , a 91 and a 93 as well as a 95 540i Msport-
I loved a lot of what the 540 was all about- cheaper to run , and could go toe to toe with the M up until 100- then the M would flex its muscle and go.
In the end the M5 is an M for a reason- the sound it made at full song with the track pipes into an Eisenmann plus the ITB’s … truly exotic !
I had a 540/6 as well and it was a fantastic drive. This has me looking…
Seems like good value for a US buyer, although I would double check with your state DMV about registering it. I would take the real M5 over this for the manic S38 but the V8 is probably more suited to US roads.
@Kraftwork Orange; the 540i M-Sport actually doesn’t have a few of the options of the M540i, including the interior and brakes. The 540i M-Sport and M540i production are separate; there were 32 M540i produced, 205 M-sports produced (139 6-speed, 66 auto). Between the two, the M540i is probably more special since you could get the M5 brakes and interior, but it’s a pretty minor point overall. You’re right that for U.S. fans, simply keeping an eye out for an M-Sport gives you most of this package.
Just shot them an email. If I can register this in California, I’m going for it.
The stitching on the steering wheel is to die for.
fyi: https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/425/~/registering-a-foreign-registered-vehicle,-car-or-motorcycle-in-the-u.s.-with