Icon BMW M5 - New Gadgetry Built for Speed and Comfort (Part 2)

Today the acceleration feels brisk rather than blistering, but an in-period recorded 0-62mph time of 6.0 sec (against a claimed of 6.2) is nothing to be sniffed at, and a 0-100mph time of just over 15sec is genuinely sweetly past 6000rpm and, as you'd expect, pulls hardest towards the top end. The soundtrack morphs from a deep, cultured background burble near idle, picking up a higher whine as the revs rise until you get that distinctive rasping straight-sic timbre from the exhaust just before you need to change gear.

Center console is angled towards drive; gearshift isn't the quickest, but is still a pleasure to use

But to be honest, the M5 is perfectly happy cruising in fifth and relying on the flexibility of its straight-six to make quick but very seemly progress. It's so civilized that you almost fail to realize how fast you're covering ground; it just stealthily eats up the miles and would be a wonderfully relaxed way to cross a country. As we sweep gracefully along a drenched section of dual carriageway, I can't help but switch the ratio on. Not to listen to anything: just so that I can watch in the door mirror as the telescopic silver wand of an aerial rises majestically out of the rear wing.

We're heading to a section of road in the Surrey Hills that I know well, a section that's not quite as narrow as most and with a decent flow to the way it picks a line between the beaches and oaks. Before we even get there, I know it's going to be fun. Coming off an empty, sopping-wet roundabout, I can't help but find out what happens with a bit more commitment. The answer is that the nose reacts willingly and the rear steps out under the most modest amount of provocation. Then the whole car stabilizes calmly with the LSD locked, so that you can simply hold the slide all the way off the roundabout, enjoying the moment until you want to ease the throttle a fraction and wind off the lock. It's all communicated so transparently that it just makes you want to do it again and again. Brilliant

The gearbox feels tight and precise and shifts easily through the gears

Unlike the E30 M3, which has a secure rear-end and drives almost like a well set-up front-wheel-drive car, the E28 M5 is rear wheel drive and proud of it. Although the M5 does seem like a long car, the length feels like it's all behind you towards the boot (where, incidentally, BMW repositioned the battery) because the front wheels are so easy to place into a corner. The perfectly weighted power steering is especially good once you're just off the straight-ahead, loading up through the thin, three-spoke steering wheel so that you feel instantly secure in the line that you've picked. Then it's just a case of working with the delightfully accurate throttle to neatly adjust your line. It never feels like a small car, but you don't have to cajole it; you just thread it quickly down a narrow road without being hampered by its size. Taut and positive is how I'd describe its handling, which if I'm honest, comes as something of a surprise.

The M5's dampers were made by Bilstein until early in 1986 when they were ditched for Boge items, with the size of the front and rear anti-roll bars simultaneously increased. This 1987 car I'm driving certainly rides with aplomb, doing something that rally cars strive for by soaking up the big bumps with a decent amount of supple travel, yet never wallowing and always maintaining a firmer ride over the surface's smaller is imperfections. It's a very clever trick to play and means that you always feel intimately connected to the road without ant fear of being bucked off it.

Unlike the E30 M3, which has a secure rear-end and drives almost like a well set-up front-wheel-drive car, the E28 M5 is rear wheel drive and proud of it

The brakes, as you might expect, are perhaps the only weak point. Although they don't feel as bad as those of some cars of this age, they're not quite in proportion to the strength of the engine and I wouldn't fancy leaning the car's 1413kg kerb weight on them too hard often. It would be easy to get carried away and do just that, though, because the M5 is simply so engaging and fun to drive. Sometimes older cars are lovely to drive for the contrasting experience, but ultimately only serve as a timely reminder of how far we're come since. But with the E28, I find that as the hours tick by I simply want to make a beeline for Wales or Scotland (a journey that would no doubt be effortless) and then play with it on my favorite stretches of road. Suddenly a day doesn't seem nearly long enough....

“it's do civilized that you almost fail to realize how fast you're covering ground; it stealthily eats up the miles”

Today, a Ferrari 328 will set you back twice as much as M5, yet there were only 187 right-hand-drive European-spec M5s ever built, so this is a truly rare beast. It might not have the racing heritage of the E30 M3 (although it's well worth looking up footage of Tony Viana racing a modified E28 at Kyalami in South Africa), but it was still hand-built by BMW Motorsport in Garching and has an M1 motor in it, which is pretty cool. What's more, it really kicked off the super saloon power war that is still raging today between M5s, Mercedes AMG E-classes and Audi RS6s. So although magazines might not have completely grasped the brilliance of the formula at the time, the significance of this car has grown and grown with age.

It's an iconic slice of history. And a slice that just happens to be a huge amount of fun to drive, too.