Special M5 Competition celebrates 35 years of fast BMW sedans

It’s 2019, which means it’s been 35 years since the very first BMW M5 went on sale. And what better way to honour that anniversary than with a special edition of today’s ludicrously powerful M5 Competition?

(Click HERE to read about our fave M5 to date... the E39 M5)

BMW will build 350'M5 Edition 35 Years’, beginning this July. There’s no word on how many will reach the UK in right-hand drive, nor how much they’ll cost. History tells us it’ll be 35 cars or so, for likely more money than the S$522k for the standard M5 Comp.

Your money doesn’t buy you any mechanical upgrades -; just aesthetic ones. So, like the Competition, the 35 Years gets a twin-turbo 4.4-litre V8 with 616bhp and 750Nm -; enough for 0-;100km/h in 3.3secs and a top speed of 305km/h (with the M Driver’s pack) -; that powers all four wheels through an 8spd automatic gearbox.

What you do get is special paint. Matte-finish BMW Individual Frozen Dark Grey paint, to be precise, plus new 20-inch alloy wheels and brake calipers in either black or gold.

Things get more interesting inside, which sees the debut of BMW’s'aluminium carbon structure gold anodised’ trim. There’s also the finest black leather with beige contrast stitching and many, many badges.

What do you reckon?

STORY Tom Harrison