Our own Paul has recently spent a few posts outlining some gripes he has with the current Volkswagen/Audi lineup, and in all honesty I have to echo him. With the exceptions of the TT-RS and Golf R, VAG has really left our market wanting. For some time, it was the niche-ness of Audi that made it so appealing. Where else would you get a turbocharged, all-wheel drive manual wagon? Ironically, it’s most recently been rival BMW that has offered that package in the 535xi Touring as Audi has steadfastly removed the fast 5-doors from North America. Okay, we get the beautiful A7/S7/RS7 lineup, but they’re exceptionally tech-heavy and….well, just plain heavy, as well as being (like nearly all of the Audi lineup) automatic only. Now, if I’m honest some automatics aren’t that bad and I think even Paul admitted the most recent generation of BMW autos were pretty impressive. The same goes for recent turbo motors that manage to produce both stellar fuel economy and outrageous power (for how long, I’m tempted to wonder as I saw yet another 2.0T apart on a bench today). But the synergy of naturally aspriated mechanical noise, three pedal engagement and a weighted lever to mesh them together is something enthusiasts will always want. That combo, when coupled with the equally sought fast wagons from Audi, creates a legendary package that has really few equals and a presence second to none. Last offered in the B7 chassis, the raucous BBK-code 4.2 V8 coupled 11:1 compression with variable valve timing for a screaming 7,200 rpm redline and 340 horsepower. The numbers were close to the S54 in the E46 M3, but the delivery is completely different. While the M3 is a high-revving race feel, the Audi positively comes across like a freight train when you’re behind it. Mash the throttle and there isn’t an explosion of speed – indeed, you might be disappointed at first. But keep watching that needle, because that silky smooth V8 has already propelled you past legal speeds and is showing no sign of slowing down:
Tag: V8
EDIT 3/25/16 – Thanks to our reader Mark who alerted us that this car is misrepresented since he actually owns #4. Further detective work by our readers has shown this is actually an M540i number 3/32 but without its original M540i details. Thanks to our knowledgeable readership for scrutinizing!
Here’s a rare slice of BMW M-car, one of the 32 examples of the Canada-only E34 M540i. These were built by BMW Individual at the time, and were a far cry from the badge-happy ///M340iMsportEfficientDynamics, creating the have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too of 90s Bimmers by taking the E34 M5’s chosen-one suspension and brakes and mating it with the 540i’s grunty V8 and 6-speed fun-lever.
So, sounds like an amazing find, especially with a No-Reserve Auction starting at $4,999. A shockingly low number for such a rare 5er, but its had 10 owners in just 101.5k miles, and it needs shocks, springs, mounts, fan shrouds, cosmetics… it needs. The interior looks to be in good shape, as does the trunk, but the engine bay remains a mystery. If you’re handy with the E34 platform, you’ll probably have a wealth of options to take get it awesome, but you could probably have a sharp-looking, now intelligently-modified M540i that lives up to its name.
Click for details: 1995 BMW M540i on eBay
11 CommentsThere are always automotive “what ifs” that are really entertaining to consider. What if Audi had continued its Group B development mule which moved the turbocharged inline-5 to the middle of the car in order to better combat the likes of Lancia, Ford and Peugeot? Might the R8 have become a reality two generations earlier? What if Porsche had fully sussed out the Audi V8 in the back of the 964 instead of sticking with the flat-6? What if Mercedes-Benz hadn’t bought Chrysler and made a conscious decision to make their cars worse? These are but a few of interesting plot developments that could have spawned a Watchmen-esque alternate reality. The automotive landscape we look at could be entirely different. And to add one more potential to the plotline, what if BMW’s traditional design language was completely different? It’s pretty easy to spot the influences of the E9 and E10 in today’s car even though there have been massive changes. BMW even went to great lengths to try to convince consumers of today that there is lineage between the 2002 and the newly renamed 2-series. But what if BMW relied on Italian designer Pietro Frua to design their cars? Well, we would have gotten the 1971 Mustang a few years early, for one: