M5

STORY

The BMW M5 invented the super-saloon: a discreet executive sedan with supercar pace. The first M5, the E28 of 1985, hid the M1's 24-valve straight-six under an unassuming 5 Series body, creating the fastest production sedan in the world at the time and a template every rival would eventually copy.

The bloodline only grew more serious. The E39 M5 of 1998 was the first M5 with a V8, the 400 hp S62, and it is still revered as one of the finest sports sedans ever made. The E60 that followed took the radical step of a 5.0-litre, high-revving S85 V10 whose sound deliberately echoed Formula 1. Later cars turned to twin-turbo V8s and, most recently, plug-in hybrid power, but the M5's mission has never changed: to be the ultimate everyday BMW.