2015 BMW M5 30 Jahre (F10) | UK Review

Limited edition M5 given a bit of a run; is there still anything worth celebrating though?

"The founder member of the high-power business sedan segment!" boasts BMW in its bumph accompanying this M5 '30 Jahre M5'.

What, you expected spoilers and stickers?

There were fast Jags and monster Mercs if you go a bit further back. But, go on then BMW, we'll give you that one. It has sold a hell of a lot of the things over the years after all. The first E28 did a modest 2,200 before being replaced in 1987 by the E34, which sold a much more significant 12,000 over two versions, including 900 Touring models. Then came the V8 E39 in 1998 which sold 20,500 before the V10-powered E60 took over in 2004. When succeeded by the new twin-turbo F10 in 2011 it too had sold 20,548 cars, including 1,025 Tourings, underlining just what an important car the M5 is for BMW.

Clue is in the name and the M5 30 Jahre celebrates this three-decade dominance, albeit not by being trimmed in pink icing with some candles mounted on the roof. That would be silly. Nein, when the M5 does celebration it does it in matt silver paint and 600hp under the bonnet, the 30 Jahre announced last year the most powerful M product sold to date with engine and chassis upgrades inspired by M5 Competition Pack. 'Ours' is #1 of 300 distributed globally, as celebrated with a plaque on the dash.

Noise from here quite good; inside less so

Bro, do u even lift?
Got to be said, it looks the absolute business too. From the understated delicacy of the E28 onwards the M5 has steadily gained muscle so it's perhaps inevitable that, 30 years on, this celebratory edition just goes all-out for a seriously pumped interpretation of powerfully built. Given the stats it's still relatively subtle but unmistakeably over and above a regular 5 Series, the massive gold-calipered ceramic brakes and carbon trimmed quad exhausts worn like a vein-popping bruiser's sovereign rings and neck chain.

Does it actually answer any of the fairly significant questions still hanging over the F10 M5 though? Each of its predecessors has had a USP setting it apart from the crowd, be that the E28's supercar performance in a saloon body, the E34's throttle-bodied twin-cam six in business attire, the E39's bad-boy V8 schtick or the E60's mentalist 100hp-per-litre normally aspirated V10. The F10, meanwhile, trades charisma for outright power and speed.

Probably appropriate then that the 30 Jahre just has more of both. Just don't expect any added warmth or character. In the absence of that 600hp isn't bad compensation. Back in 1984 the original M5's 286hp was a simply astonishing amount of grunt in a saloon. Our capacity to be shocked has been dulled in the 30 years since but this is still a hell of a lot of power. But it's a hell of a lot of car too; 1,870kg unladen with SUV-like solidity and stature.

Modes aplenty in typical M fashion

NFI'd
There's nothing subtle about the way the M5 drives either. It's as if in an attempt to over-compensate for the bulk BMW has decided a hair-trigger throttle, snatchy transmission and overly 'sportlich' chassis settings are the way to go.

The equivalent AMG E63 S isn't far behind on power at 585hp and also uses a twin-turbo V8. But it manages that neat trick of being able to pull away and cruise as smoothly as any Merc before deploying the full shock and awe thunder. There's no such subtlety in the M5. Wham! That'll be your 600hp, all at once. Oof! You want feedback from the road? There it is! Gearchanges? Thud! That's a gearchange! In the M style there are an awful lot of modes to play with, none of them entirely convincing though. Comfort for steering and suspension is as close to authentic as either gets, though it feels underdamped and lacking in body control as you start pressing on and there's a gloopiness to the wheel that leaves you somewhat detached. Leaving just the speed. Of which there is lots and lots. And lots. Most of which you can't actually use, inevitably.

What will the next 30 bring?

Price of progress
In this context the fake engine noise over the speakers sums up the uncharacteristic insecurity at the F10's core. From the outside the engine actually sounds pretty decent with a bassy and exotic sounding rumble. In high gears with the stereo off you might just catch a whisper of turbo whine and rush of induction air too, making it all the more frustrating when the synthetic V8 noise erupts around the cabin. Big V8s can't be long for this world - let's hear them while we still can chaps!

Given all this the 30 Jahre branding is almost something more poignant than celebratory, perhaps underlining what the M5 has lost in the last three decades rather than gained. It's not the car's fault - the market has changed, the whole mega engine in sensible clothes thing is no longer an M USP and the demand for bigger, better, faster and more means four-wheel drive and electrical assistance probably aren't a million miles away either.

Flawed or not, a hell of a thing. And a birthday that had to be marked in suitable style. Just a shame it doesn't feel like we were invited to the party.

BMW M5 30 JAHRE
Engine: 4,395cc V8 twin-turbo
Transmission: 7-speed M double-clutch transmission (DCT), rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 600@6,250rpm (560@6,000rpm)
Torque (lb ft): 516@1,500-6,000rpm (501@1,500rpm)
0-62mph: 3.9sec (4.4sec)
Top speed: 155mph [limited, 190mph with optional M driver's package] (189mph with optional M Driver's package)
Weight: 1,945kg (EU)
MPG: 28.5 mpg (NEDC combined)
CO2: 231g/km
Price: £91,990 (list price, as tested £113,365 comprising £430 for powered bootlid, £500 for lane change warning system, £7,395 for M Carbon Ceramic brakes, £6,890 for M performance exhaust system with Carbon Fibre tailpipe finishers, £375 for reversing camera, £435 for soft-close doors, £250 for speed limit display, £345 for sun protection glass, £75 for through-loading ski bag, £325 for rear seat heating, £530 for surround view, £95 for internet, £325 for online entertainment, £1,510 for Night vision with pedestrian recognition, £870 for TV function and £1,125 for an Active Security Package)