Thursday 13th February

BMW 550i Luxury Touring | Spotted

The M5 Touring is imminent, but there is a 4.4-litre, V8 5 Series estate available for a tenth of the cost...

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It’s been a disappointing time of late for those of us who spend far too long on car configurators. There are seemingly fewer variants of most cars than ever, a limited colour palette unless willing to pay through the nose, and a bewildering array of options - most of which seem totally unnecessary. It’s why BMW’s news of new colours for the manual Z4 was so warmly received last week; no more money, some extra choice, a little extra desirability for a likeable sports car. 

But then it’s notable that Handschalters aren’t exactly on every street corner. Model offerings are being streamlined to reflect what people actually buy, logic that it’s pretty hard to contest; when cutting costs feels like priority number one for the industry right now, culling slow sellers must be an easy way to save. 

This 5 Series hails from a time when there were no such concerns - the heady days of 2014 - and the customer was most certainly always right in matters of taste. There’s just no way this would happen for a new 5 Series now. Partly because it’s a Luxury spec, complete with chrome and clear glass, where only Sport or M Sport or M is now available. Partly it’s because this is a flat red estate, which can’t have happened much in any era of 5 Series. (If anyone can help with what the colour’s called, it’d be appreciated!)

Oh yes, and there’s the small matter of a V8 under the bonnet. This is a BMW 550i Luxury Touring, a specification so rare we weren’t entirely sure it existed until seeing this one. HowManyLeft reckons there were only ever a maximum of nine in the UK, across both bodystyles. This is another reason why this sort of thing doesn’t happen anymore - but if you enjoy a weird BMW spec that’s been rare from new (hello from a 325ti owner), it’s manna from heaven. 

Now showing 100,000 miles for a decade of use, the 449hp 5 Series presents very nicely indeed. The red is vibrant, the chrome shiny, the very unassuming wheels apparently unblemished. Somebody would have paid at least £60k for this once (more than £80,000 now), so hopefully it’s been taken care of. The interior has held up well; folk who like buttons in a BMW cabin will be overjoyed at the sight of this. 

There’s a catch, of course, and that’s the engine: BMW’s N63 was never known as a paragon of reliability, to put it mildly. This 550i uses the later 4.4-litre variant, which is generally regarded as tougher and less troublesome than the original 4.0-litre, though it still doesn’t have the best reputation. Issues can arise from the turbos, direct injection system, high-pressure fuel and water pump, any one of which could mean a big bill. So don’t say you weren’t warned. This one is said to be fully main dealer maintained, and hopefully the fact it’s made it this far is a good sign. 

Because what an interesting bit of BMW history it represents, when large engines could go in without a hint, really, of sporting pretence. And it’s a recent 5 Series Touring, so it’ll be spacious, refined and plush enough for all aboard. There’s an advisory-free MOT until 2026, and surely some room for manoeuvre on £12,990 given the esoteric appeal of the spec. What a cool family bus it could be - and easy to spot in among all the grey 520ds…

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SPECIFICATION | BMW 550I LUXURY TOURING (F11)

Engine: 4,395cc, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: 8-speed auto, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 449@5,500-6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 479@2,000-4,500rpm
MPG: 31-32.1
CO2: 206-213g/km
Year registered: 2014
Recorded mileage: 98,803
Price new: £60,070 (before options)
Yours for: £12,990

See the original advert here

[ducnick]

Now that’s a rare beast.. especially so in such a strange colour.
I had a F11 520d and it was a lovely car, but I always thought it needed a larger engine. After driving a friends 650i, I became convinced that a 550 touring would be damn near perfect for me, but they were non existent on the used market.
In dark blue/green/maroon etc this would be of genuine interest to me… but bright red really doesn’t suit it.

A couple of random memories from my time with f10 / f11’s

The f10 had approx 1 inch deeper boot. Strange I know, but we had a buggy at the time that wouldn’t fit in the f11 length ways but went in the f10 length ways.


All f11’s had air springs on the back to cope with the higher loads in an estate car.

Run flats were horrible and they drove much nicer on normal tyres.

Sports seats were ok. comfort seats were sublime and worth seeking out.

The 535d was incredibly quick and suited the car well.

Edited by ducnick on Thursday 13th February 20:34

[GeniusOfLove]

By all accounts you need balls like coconuts to risk that N63 engine out of a proper warranty. I've certainly seen plenty (and the the S63 M sister) absolutely fked up beyond belief well before 100k miles.

[griffsomething]

Think you could get this era 5 series 550i with a manual here, they certainly did one in the states.

Wonder how many of those they sold…

[J4CKO]

That is an oddball spec, doesnt seem unduly expensive, looks in good condition, but like GOL says, those engines can be a little challenging, and it just looks plain weird in red.

[AllyM]

Looks cheap and nasty in red.

[GeniusOfLove]

The problem isn't just that they're challenging, it's that lots of things on them can cause trouble and every single job is an absolute swine because access is so awful.

Watch one of the YouTube videos of one being stripped down on an engine stand and tell me you think it'll be cheap to fix (with the engine inside the car!) when the cam cover gaskets are inevitably (BMW) piddling out oil into the valley under your roasting hot turbos, let alone the turbo, timing, injector, and VVC issues they're known for.

Big engines in old smokers have always been a gamble, one I've taken and won far more often than I've lost, but these European Hot-V direct injected engines? I'm out, brand new and under warranty or not at all please.

[J4CKO]

GeniusOfLove said:

The problem isn't just that they're challenging, it's that lots of things on them can cause trouble and every single job is an absolute swine because access is so awful.

Watch one of the YouTube videos of one being stripped down on an engine stand and tell me you think it'll be cheap to fix when the cam cover gaskets are inevitably (BMW) piddling out oil into the valley under your roasting hot turbos, let alone the turbo, timing, injector, and VVC issues they're known for.

Big engines in old smokers have always been a gamble, one I've taken and won far more often than I've lost, but this generation of Hot-V direct injected engines? I'm out.

Yeah, thats what I was saying the challenging bits were, I was agreeing with you !

Certainly not challenging to use, when its working I expect its a bit of a monster, 3/4 of an M5 ?

[pSyCoSiS]

I have this saved to my eBay watchlist since a few weeks back.

Interesting car. Different colour. LCI. High spec. I really like it.

To the average person, looks like a standard 520d.

Would have been quite expensive when new.

[Bloody ULEZ]

I know nothing about the risks with that engine, but that's surely a stage 1 remap from ~550 bhp.
Rear badge delete, and serious sleeper credentials for the money.

[pSyCoSiS]

J4CKO said:

GeniusOfLove said:

The problem isn't just that they're challenging, it's that lots of things on them can cause trouble and every single job is an absolute swine because access is so awful.

Watch one of the YouTube videos of one being stripped down on an engine stand and tell me you think it'll be cheap to fix when the cam cover gaskets are inevitably (BMW) piddling out oil into the valley under your roasting hot turbos, let alone the turbo, timing, injector, and VVC issues they're known for.

Big engines in old smokers have always been a gamble, one I've taken and won far more often than I've lost, but this generation of Hot-V direct injected engines? I'm out.

Yeah, thats what I was saying the challenging bits were, I was agreeing with you !

Certainly not challenging to use, when its working I expect its a bit of a monster, 3/4 of an M5 ?

With a remap, it certainly won't be far off the M5 power.

[pSyCoSiS]

Bloody ULEZ said:

I know nothing about the risks with that engine, but that's surely a stage 1 remap from ~550 bhp.
Rear badge delete, and serious sleeper credentials for the money.

Yes, and what a sleeper it would be!

[Nicks90]

What a marvellous thing and I like it in red - way better than the typical Auschwitz colour palette that most people buy bmws in

Not for me though, way too risky, but I appreciate and approve that cars like this exist.
It would be a phenomenal way of schlepping across the continent

[georgeyboy12345]

Didn’t know brave pill was back

[epom]

I think that's fab, debadge and away you go (for however it would last).

[PSRG]

The odd thing about that car is that it is almost certainly an ex BMW UK car in some way, shape or form based on the registration. And as it's residual suicide I am amazed it was specc'ed that way! Maybe a disgruntled employee pressed a few buttons before leaving

Edited to add, or maybe it was one of these...

https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/global/photo/detail...

Edited by PSRG on Thursday 13th February 12:51

[thehardman07]

Bloody ULEZ said:

I know nothing about the risks with that engine, but that's surely a stage 1 remap from ~550 bhp.
Rear badge delete, and serious sleeper credentials for the money.

I'd stick a 520d badge on it for even more of a sleeper effect.

On a separate note, anyone else hate when dealers superimpose the car on to a different background or is it just me?

Edited by thehardman07 on Thursday 13th February 12:43

[vikingaero]

I like the car, the colour not so much, Would be great with a 520d badge.

[E63eeeeee...]

pSyCoSiS said:

Bloody ULEZ said:

I know nothing about the risks with that engine, but that's surely a stage 1 remap from ~550 bhp.
Rear badge delete, and serious sleeper credentials for the money.

Yes, and what a sleeper it would be!

Having had the saloon version, I can confirm it will spend a fair amount of time asleep.

Epic q-car between periods of hibernation at BMW dealers, but I learned my lesson and I wouldn't touch one with yours. The idea of remapping one brings me out in a cold sweat.

[Maxus]

PSRG said:

The odd thing about that car is that it is almost certainly an ex BMW UK car in some way, shape or form based on the registration. And as it's residual suicide I am amazed it was specc'ed that way! Maybe a disgruntle employee pressed a few buttons before leaving

I was going to comment the same about it likely being an ex BMW UK car. My guess is it was brought in for a specific purpose. A quick search shows they used similar in Germany for the fire service. Could have been a demo car to present to UK services.

[PSRG]

Maxus said:

I was going to comment the same about it likely being an ex BMW UK car. My guess is it was brought in for a specific purpose. A quick search shows they used similar in Germany for the fire service. Could have been a demo car to present to UK services.

Yes, seems more likely than my disgruntled employee theory!!