BMW E61 M5 Touring LCi – known + bearing shells done

An super well maintained facelift/LCi V10 M5 touring well known to us, with preventative maintenance done (bearing shells, clutch etc) and excellent service history.

The BMW V10 M5 will go down in history for many reasons. The last naturally aspirated M5. The only V10 production engine made by BMW. The world’s first production saloon or estate fitted with a V10. The first F1-derived engine in an M5. The most powerful naturally aspirated M5 ever made. The first M5 to have a semi-automatic, F1 derived gearbox (manual with electro-hydraulic clutch – SMGIII).

The E39 M5 had already set a high bar – an incredibly versatile, comfy, 4-door saloon, relatively understated but immensely capable. And it happened to be the fastest saloon car on the planet, too. So what follows that? Well, the E60 M5 went off in a slightly unexpected direction that, whilst not so popular at the time, we can now be very grateful for. They didn’t make it more comfy and tame. They didn’t make it smoother or more civilized or easier to drive. It wasn’t an economical car. The E60’s successor, the F10 M5 did all that. But in between, they went a little…mad.

So yes, for the E60/E61 V10 M5, they went the other way. They made an engine that started from zero – no common parts with any other BMW production car, nothing carried forward. Taking the tech lessons learned from their Formula 1 Sauber car, the boffins at BMW M made a terrifyingly fast V10 engine, and ran the power through a gearbox that can change up or down a gear faster than the human brain can comprehend, let alone imitate. 0-60 in a reported 4.1 seconds, and a top speed, unrestricted, of just short of 200mph. Sure, around town, it could be a little bit less smooth than you’d like, and true, the interior is more stark, no nonsense and also, to the uninitiated, the car felt a bit unwieldy – even heavier. But it wasn’t.

It was lighter, it was more powerful, and by modern standards, remarkably gimmick free. It turned out you just needed to completely recalibrate your brain. The E60/E61 M5 handled better because it was lighter, and had a better chassis. You just needed to have bigger cajónes. And it was much quicker, more responsive, you just had to stop messing about, get on the money, go past 5000rpm, and stay nailed.

Nowadays, the old issues are barely relevant. Who cares if your V10 weekend car does less than 10mpg? Do you really need to worry if it’s a little jerky round town, when you can set your pants alight on the A and B roads? Be in no doubt just how unhinged these cars are – unhinged but sublimely controllable – you won’t be complaining about mpg, we’re pretty sure of that. And with the touring, you can take the whole family along for the ride.

BMW have – until the current G99 model – tantalisingly only ever made two versions of the M5 in the touring (estate-car/shooting break) format – the E34 and the E60 – both of which are absolutely cult cars. The M5 touring brings family size practicality to a blue-blooded road-racer, with a banshee-like howl and handling that will out-corner most other cars on the road. You can see why they have achieved ‘Legend’ status. The decision to add an estate car to the current M5 range owes a lot to the past success of these two models. The only downside is that they limited production to a paltry 222 cars. So, with rarity just adding more fuel to the cult-status fire, the E61 M5 has to be the perfect combination of a practical car, with near-guaranteed investment appeal, and the performance to set your pants on fire. Well spec’d, easy to drive – once mastered, the M5 is an incredibly rewarding machine – and comfy, the M5 touring is most certainly a car you need to own.

This particular M5 touring is well known to us having sold it to the current owner – who has made sure that during his ownership the car has wanted for nothing. Right up until two years ago the car had always had a full BMW warranty, meaning throughout its life it has benefitted from a no-expense-spared approach to any issues that have arisen. As mentioned above, the infamous bearing shell worry has been eliminated, the complete clutch system – clutch, flywheel and cylinders have been replaced, and the car has had two services in two years. Note also that this is the preferable face lift (LCI) model, with the infinitely superior iDrive system, amongst other upgrades. Our technical team have carried out the usual rigorous inspection and are very happy with their findings, with a couple of routine items to be taken care of before the new owner takes possession.

For more information on this fabulous V10 touring, or to book a visit (by appointment only please) contact our showroom team.