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The E60 BMW M5 Sedan and E61 BMW M5 Touring: 10 Is the Sweet Spot

After the 1988 Formula 1 season, turbocharged engines were banned in favor of naturally-aspirated lumps with a displacement of 3.5 liters. McLaren-Honda switched to a V10 powerplant, and so did Williams-Renault. 1995 saw the introduction of new regulations, under which all teams were required to run 3.0-liter mills. The V10 era was in full swing, and BMW couldn't resist adapting this configuration for two of the most iconic series-production cars of the 21st century.
E60 BMW M5 Sedan and E61 BMW M5 Touring 17 photos
Photo: BMW / edited
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Grove-based Williams used BMW V10 engines from 2000 all the way through the end of 2005. During this period, BMW-powered Williams racing drivers racked up 10 wins. 2003 was a highlight year, with Juan Pablo Montoya finishing third in the drivers' championship, nine points behind The Iceman. Capitalizing on this engine supply deal was the right course of action for BMW, the automaker that prides itself on producing the Ultimate Driving Machine. The well-known slogan is credited to veteran automotive industry executive Bob Lutz and New York-based advertising agency Ammirati & Puris.

The Bavarian automaker's product planners also wanted an M5 that would easily differentiate BMW from Mercedes, whose AMGs from the late 1990s and early 2000s are best described as tire-smoking cruisers. By their very nature, M cars are Ultimate Driving Machines, and the E60 needed to be one as well. Add the aforementioned collaboration with British Formula 1 team Williams to the mix, and it becomes crystal clear why the M5 was promoted from eight to 10 cylinders.

Launched in 2004, the E60 M5 was received with mixed reactions. On the one hand, nobody with a pulse dared criticize the manufacturer's engine choice for the 5 Series-based thriller. But still, some peeps were quick to lambast the V10-powered sedan for its exterior design. Chris Bangle still divides opinion, but nevertheless, many agree that Bimmers from that epoch aged rather gracefully. To be frank, yours truly much prefers the "Bangle Butt" of the E65 to the dubious rear ends of the G42 and G87. And who can forget the current head of design Domagoj Dukec? When he said that it's not BMW's goal to please everyone – in regard to the snouty grille of the G22 – it rubbed off the wrong way on a lot of fans.

E60 BMW M5 Sedan
Photo: BMW

As implied by its codename, the E60 originally came in four-door guise. Publicly unveiled at the 2004 Paris Motor Show, the sedan was joined by its wagon-bodied sibling in March 2007 at the Geneva Motor Show. Advertised as Touring, the long-roofed E61 wasn't offered in the United States market.

The E39 started life as a shell that morphed into the first V8-powered M5 at the BMW M facility in Garching. The E60 and E61 were made in Dingolfing on the semi-automated production line of lesser 5ers. That wasn't a dealbreaker in and of itself, but something that hindered the commercial success of the E60/E61 was the notoriously problematic transmission.

The SMG III isn't a dual-clutch unit or a torque-converter automatic, but an automated manual that is way too jerky when driving in the urban jungle. Unless you give it on an open road or a racetrack, it's a frustrating piece of kit. Gifted with shift paddles on the steering wheel and an automatic mode to boot, the Sequential M Gearbox III numbers seven forward gears.

E61 BMW M5 Touring
Photo: BMW

As opposed to North America, manuals were – and still are – popular in the Old Continent. But paradoxically, the only manual-equipped E90 M5 sedans were produced to NA specifications for North America only. Ridiculous doesn't even cut it. Missed opportunity is the better choice of words.

The ZF-supplied manual is pretty similar in design to that used in the 550i, although BMW shortened the final drive for a sportier driving experience. Regardless of transmission, the uneven-firing V10 produced the same kind of power and torque, both at home in Europe and in the United States. The numbers in question are 500 horsepower (507 ps or 373 kW) at 7,750 revolutions per minute and 383 pound-feet (520 Nm) at 6,100 revolutions per minute. Needless to say, this free-breathing lump sounds wonderful, thanks in part to electronically-controlled throttle bodies for every cylinder.

Keep your right foot planted on the accelerator, and the speedometer will eventually indicate 155 miles per hour (250 kilometers per hour) at engine speeds of up to 8,250 revolutions per minute. Specifying the optional M Driver's Package raised the maximum speed to 190 miles per hour (305 kilometers per hour). Be that as it may, the E60 and E61 can both reach 205 miles per hour (330 kilometers per hour) completely derestricted. The fastest sedan and wagon of that era were also quick to 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour), and the E60 is much obliged to lap the Nurburgring in 8 minutes 13 seconds fully stock.

E61 BMW M5 Touring
Photo: BMW

The final naturally-aspirated M5 of the bunch is pretty quick on the Green Hell for a number of reasons, not only its high-revving V10. The Electronic Damping Control system comes to mind, along with Brake Standby and the M Variable Differential Lock. 45 kilograms heavier than the E39 M5, the E60 M5 rear-driven sedan tips the scales at 1,830 kilograms (4,034 pounds).

America received the E60 in 2005 for the 2006 model year, when BMW made the switch from a key to a stop/start button. The family-sized Touring was introduced midway through 2007, weighing a rather porky 1,955 kilograms (4,310 pounds). iDrive 2.0 rolled out for 2010, which also saw the arrival of the 25th Anniversary Edition. Only 27 were produced, of which three were left-hand-drive wagons.

Just under 20,000 units of the E60 M5 were produced between September 2004 and December 2009. By comparison, the station wagon originally numbered a few more than 1,000 examples. Over in the United States, some 1,300 units of the manual-equipped sedan were sold. Although the manual won't return to the M5, hearsay suggests that the G60 is getting a wagon companion in the G99. The plug-in hybrid V8-powered M5 Touring is expected to enter production in November 2024, four months after the sedan.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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