The only naturally aspirated V10 BMW ever built for the road
The BMW M5 E60 arrived in 2005 with a naturally aspirated five-litre V10, 507 horsepower and a rev limiter at 8,250 rpm. A four-door saloon that revved like a racing car. Nobody has tried it since. This blog is about that car: what makes it remarkable, what makes it fragile, and why its owners still defend it twenty years on. Checked figures, honest opinions.
The S85's output, reached at 7,750 rpm, with no turbo and no supercharger.
The rev limiter. A motorcycle figure, in a saloon weighing nearly 1.9 tonnes.
A layout inherited directly from BMW's Formula 1 programme.
A layout emissions rules have buried for good.
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Engine | Naturally aspirated V10, code S85 |
| Displacement | 4,999 cc |
| Power | 507 hp at 7,750 rpm |
| Torque | 520 Nm at 6,100 rpm |
| Rev limiter | 8,250 rpm |
| 0-100 km/h | 4.7 s |
| Top speed | 250 km/h (limited) |
| Gearbox | 7-speed SMG III |
| Production | 2005 to 2010 |