I still remember the magic of my first ride in a M5. Although my father would end up owning one and still does, it was not the E28 like his that started my love affair with the inline-6 equipped super-sedans. Rather, it was a then-new 1991 E34 model that provided me a ride I was not quite fully prepared for. Coming from a background of family Toyotas, you can imagine the difference when full-throttle was applied to the legendary S38B36 motor on an onramp. It felt, quite literally, like we were taking off. The E34 never seemed to gain the traction of the E28’s appeal for many enthusiasts, but for me, it’s the model I love more. That ride remains the only time I’ve been in an E34 M5, but having spent many years getting to drive the family’s subsequent ’95 525i, every time I got behind the wheel I dreamed that awesome twin-cam M50 was its bigger brother. The market still hasn’t awoken to these last-of-the-handbuilt, last of the original M88 derived cars – a shame, considering how superlative they are in many senses. But when one pops up with only 15,500 miles on the clock, you better believe I took notice:
