BMW M5 V10 LCI

There exists a sound that is no longer made. A ten-cylinder without a turbo that screams from idle all the way to 8,250 rpm like a Formula 1 car that has somehow been issued a licence plate by mistake. And that is precisely what the E60 M5 is. When BMW decided, in late 2004, to spoon the V10 from their freshly launched F1 adventure almost directly into a four-door saloon, the rest of the motoring world watched with its jaw on the floor.

A 5.0 litre V10 with 507 bhp in a family car. Why? Because they could. And because, let's be honest, nobody ever dared to ask BMW the question.

I remember it well when this one came out. The debates on the forums, the people insisting that an M5 simply ought to have a lovely straight six (the E28, the E34), or at most a V8 (the E39, what a car that was, by the way). And then BMW turned up with ten cylinders, an SMG gearbox with seven speeds, and a button on the steering wheel that catapulted the engine from 400 to 507 bhp. Power. Excessive? Yes. Which is exactly why it is fantastic.

The E60 was, incidentally, the first M5 to wear that then still controversial Bangle design, named after Chris Bangle, who gave BMW an entirely new design language. People thought it was ugly in 2005. These days there is a queue of enthusiasts waiting for one. That is how it goes.

Right, back to the car standing here shining. This is an M5 from 2009, and the LCI version at that. For those unfamiliar with the code: LCI stands for Life Cycle Impulse, in other words the facelift. On this M5 that means, among other things, the revised LED rear lighting, subtly refined details, and the fact that you have the very latest iteration of this generation in your hands. The last of the V10 Mohicans, so to speak. Because after this one came the F10 with a V8 biturbo, technically brilliant, yet just that little bit less theatrical.

The colour is Silverstone II Metallic, a shade suspiciously fitting for a car with an F1 heart. Discreet, elegant, and exactly what you want when you wish to hide 507 bhp beneath a suit that, from the outside, looks like a perfectly respectable business saloon. This is the quintessential car for a solicitor, a barrister, or a consultant who drops the children off at school on a Monday morning and, come Saturday night, reduces other cars to dust at Copse corner. A wolf in a freshly pressed shirt.

What makes this M5 so special is the simple fact that this type will never come back. Emissions regulations, cost, complexity. Not a single manufacturer builds a naturally aspirated V10 in a saloon today. That is over. For good. And so the E60 M5 is no longer a second-hand car, but a monument. A time capsule from the moment when the motoring world still believed that excess was a virtue.

Once worth the price of a lavish S-Class, today it is a car that only grows rarer. And let's be honest: there are not many left on the road with this character and this presence. Most have been scrapped, blown up by owners who thought they could keep up, or left to rot in a garage. Not this one. This one is right here, in Silverstone II, ready to make someone who knows their stuff very happy indeed.

So if you ever wanted a car that, on paper, has no business existing, yet still slots neatly onto your driveway next to the children's bicycles, then this is it. A saloon with no earthly reason to be as good as it is.

Put on your headphones, find a clip of an E60 M5 at full revs, and then try to think clearly for a moment.

Special features

• 5.0 litre naturally aspirated V10, 507 bhp, inspired by BMW's F1 programme
• LCI specification (facelift), the last iteration of the V10 generation
• Silverstone II Metallic, subtle and fitting
• SMG semi-automatic with seven speeds and steering-wheel paddles
• Revs up to 8,250 revolutions per minute
• Power button: from 400 to 507 bhp at the touch of a finger
• Bangle design, once controversial, now sought after
• Leather upholstery, five seats
• VAT-margin car
• The last of the naturally aspirated V10 M5s

Hand still resting on the gear lever

Nick Slinger

Copywriter · HooG Selections