It was the product of demand for an automobile with the carrying capacity of a saloon (sedan), but the overall performance of a sports car. It utilized the 535i chassis and an evolution of the engine from the BMW M1.
At its launch the E28 M5 was the fastest production saloon in the world.
E28 M5s were handbuilt in Preußenstrasse/Munich prior to the 1986 Motorsport factory summer vacation. Thereafter, M5 production was moved to Daimlerstraße in Garching where the remainder were built by hand.
In May 1987, the keys to the 1000th car were presented to Mr and Mrs Krampertz from Eichenau near Munich by Wolfgang Peter Flohr, the Director of BMW Motorsport GmbH.
The M5 was offered in four different versions.
The first version was the Left Hand Drive (LHD) Euro Spec M5.
The second version was the UK specification Right Hand Drive (RHD) M5.
The third version was the North American Spec (NA or so-called 1988) M5.
The fourth version was the South African (ZA) Spec RHD M5.
The E28 M5 remains the rarest of all regular production derived M cars. Only the purpose-built M1 has a lower production run.
