Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf might have a fancy title and a crown in his sock drawer, but fundamentally he’s just like me and you. The guy absolutely loves cars.
The 77-year-old Scandinavian monarch isn’t the kind of king who’s content to be chauffeured around in a boring limo when he could be doing his own driving in something much cooler. His car history includes several Porsche 911s, at least a couple of V12 Ferraris, an original AC Cobra and a BMW M3 CSL that hit the headlines when he hit another car on a roundabout back in 2005.
Fortunately, another of his BMW M cars appears to have managed to escape any ugly accidents and is now up for grabs on the other side of the Atlantic via the Bring-a-Trailer auction site. The car is a 1987 E28 M5 with an interesting spec, and which still features some period mods that set it apart from most of the other 774 Euro-spec M5s of that vintage.
Related: 1983 E28 Alpina B9 Is A Tempting Alternative To A Classic M5
Bought new by the king and registered in January of 1987, the M5 was ordered in low-key Malachite Green and without either the rear model designation or the standard trunk spoiler. But it’s not entirely devoid of flash. The stock 16-inch BBS rims were replaced by fancier three-piece BBS wheels with gold centers (to match his crown, perhaps?), while a VHF scanner and Blaupunkt sound system must have been added early on. Inside are electrically-adjustable black buffalo leather BMW sports seats, more leather on the dashboard, console, sun visors, and steering column, plus an electric sunblind to block out the following paparazzi.
The M5‘s 3.5-liter S38 was rated at 282 hp (286 PS) in European trim and mated to a compulsory five-speed manual transmission, and this particular powertrain has definitely seen some use, unlike the ones in some royal rides. The odomoter reads 157,00 miles (252,000 km), but the seller says the car has recently received a new battery, coolant expansion tank and accessory belts, as well as an oil change, a brake fluid flush and a air-con recharge. The auction ends on August 9 and you can check out the full BaT listing here.
