e12 BMW M535i

[axlon]

This car seems to have been a forgotten hero. Looking up the magazine reports it was only 0.7 seconds slower to 60mph and 7 mph slower than the e28 M5. Autocar said the dogleg box really hampered the 0-60 time because of the awkward 1 to 2 shift.

Looking at the reports a non a/c plain spec e12 M535i was around 150-200lbs lighter than the usually loaded e28 M5. I think the e12 could have accelerated a bit faster and had a slightly higher top speed if they gave it a 3.64 to one final drive and overdrive 5 speed. That would have taken advantage of the lightweight e12 and oversquare 3.5's torque.

It was like a 4 door e9 3.0 CSL, a different beast than the later e28 cars IMO.

e12 M535i at Zolder