Very few vehicles, even less if you concentrate on family cars, have reached such a high degree of acceptance and fame as BMW‘s E39 generation 5-Series.
Even the press back in the day wasn’t shy of giving it the title of ‘the best car in the world’, as the E39 5-Series combined values like driving dynamics, luxury and quality in one unbeatable package.
Compared to its predecessor, the E39 focused more on the aerodynamics, with the finished car having a 0.27 drag coefficient, one of the lowest in the market, and a shape that to this day looks and feels timeless.
The cabin was more spacious than the one in the E34, featuring a lovely driver-focused dashboard and came packed with quality materials and lots of features, including a cutting-edge for that era on-board computer.
A wide range of four-, six- and eight-cylinder engines meant that there was an E39 to suit every need out there, with the crown jewel being, of course, the M5, which was powered by a 5.0-litre V8 with 394hp (400ps) and came with the only gearbox you really need – a 6-speed stick shift.
For many, BMWs don’t get much better than the E39 and if you have one in your driveway, consider yourself a lucky person.