The first M5, which is based on the E28 5-Series, made its debut at the 1984 Amsterdam Motor Show.
It was the product of demand for an automobile with the carrying capacity of a saloon (sedan), but the overall performance of a sports car. It utilized the 535i chassis and an evolution of the engine from the BMW M1. The M5 was handbuilt by Motorsport technicians and was the fastest production saloon (sedan) in the world. It was also designed to beat the Mercedes M class and E class.
The M5 was offered in four different versions. The first version was the Left Hand Drive (LHD) Euro Spec M5. The second version was the Right Hand Drive (RHD) Spec M5. The third version was the North American Spec (NA or so-called 1988) M5. The fourth version was the South African (ZA) Spec M5. It's worth noting that production of the M5 continued well into Calendar Year 1988, ending in November of 1988 which was well after production of the E28 chassis ended in Germany in December 1987.
The LHD, RHD Euro Spec M5s and the ZA spec M5s had the M88/3 powerplant which delivered 286 hp DIN (210 kW) whereas the North American 1988 M5 was equipped with the S38 6-Cylinder engine that had a catalytic converter, which reduced the power output to 256 hp DIN (191 kW). The S38 differed from the M88/3 in that it had 9.8:1 compression versus the M88/3's 10.5:1. The S38 also used a dual-row timing chain where the M88/1 used a single-row chain. Initially 500 were to be made for the US Market, BMW later increased production to as many as 1,370 units for the US and Canadian Markets although the generally accepted figure is 1,244 units sold.
The NA Spec Models are unique in that technically there were all finished in Schwarz (Black) with Natur (Tan) interiors. The otherwise virtually identical Canadian-Spec M5s were also available with Black interiors as an option however a handful of US Models were also equipped with Black interiors
All E28 M5s were assembled by hand at BMW Motorsport in Garching and with a total production of 2,191 the E28 M5 remains the rarest regular production BMW Motorsport car.
Performance:
(Euro) - 286 hp 0-60 mph - 6.2 s. Top Speed: 153 mph (246 km/h)
(USA) - 256 hp 0-60 mph - 6.5 s. Top Speed: 148 mph (238 km/h)
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