In 1991, BMW asked two of its racing drivers to design their own ideal version of an E34 M5. One of the drivers was multiple Touring Car champion Johnny Cecotto. His ideal M5 was one fitted with a full host of luxury items. BMW M then offered the public a package of features based on this ideal M5. A total of 22 Cecotto M5s were produced.

In 1991, BMW asked two of its racing drivers to design their own ideal version of an E34 M5. One of the drivers was Joachim Winkelhock, known for his success on the racing circuit with the Schnitzer E30 M3. His ideal M5 was a lightweight edition, stripped of all but the most performance-oriented items. BMW M then offered the public a package of features based on this ideal M5. See similar questions...

the request of Naghi Motors, the BMW importer for Saudi Arabia, BMW Motorsport GmbH produced 15 special examples of the 3.6-liter E34 M5 sedan. Known as the "Naghi" edition, these were the final ECE-spec 3.6-liter M5s produced. and were all built in late March and early April of 1992. Like all Gulf-specification E34 M5s, they were built without catalysts and were therefore rated at 318 hp (DIN). See similar questions...

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of BMW Motorsport, BMW built a limited run of 20 specially-equipped M5s in October of 1992. Based on the 3.8-liter sedan, they are all painted Mugello Red (274) and include several regular options (N?rburgring Package, Shadowline trim, driver-side airbag, power sunroof, headlight washers, air conditioning with automatic air recirculation, BMW Bavaria Cassette III radio with hi-fi speakers), as well as the following special equipment: See similar questions...

To commemorate the end of right-hand drive E34 M5 production, 50 examples of the E34 M5 Limited Edition were assembled between March and June of 1995 in one of two unique color and trim conbinations: Rosso Red metallic (369) with a Champagne extended leather interior and natural poplar wood trim (15 built) or Orinoco metallic (406) with a Bicolor Petrol and Mint extended leather interior and graphite birds-eye maple wood trim (35 built). See similar questions...

the request of several Italian BMW dealers, a limited edition of 20 E34 M5 Touring "Elekta" editions was produced by BMW Individual exclusively for the Italian market in June and July of 1995. These were offered in a choice of two unique color schemes: Sterling Silver metallic (244) with a Marine Blue Nappa leather interior and matching carpeting or British Racing Green (312) with a Hazlenut Nappa leather interior and Mexico Green carpeting. See similar questions...

The E34 M5 is the BMW Motorsport-developed version of the E34 5 Series. It is powered by the S38 twin-cam 24-valve inline-six, an evolution of the engine used in the E28 M5 and E24 M6. It also has a BMW Motorsport-tuned chassis and a few special cosmetic pieces. See similar questions...

The original E34 M5 was introduced in September, 1988. The later 3.8-liter version first appeared at the 1991 Frankfurt motor show, as did the E34 M5 Touring. See similar questions...

Unlike the normal 5 Series, M5s were hand-assembled at the BMW Motorsport facility in Garching, a suburb of Munich. Bodies were pressed at the normal Dingolfing factory, then sent to Garching where they were mated with the engine and interior trim. The only exception was the South African-spec model, assembled at BMW's Rosslyn, South Africa factory from German-supplied Complete Knock Down (CKD) kits. See similar questions...

The E34 M5 was produced in two distinct versions, each with several variations. Early cars have a 3.6-liter (actually 3,535cc) version of the 24-valve S38 inline-6 known as the S38 B36. These were built in both left-hand and right-hand drive configurations, as well as a North American-specification edition. There were also a small amount of 3.6-liter M5s assembled in South Africa, exclusively for that market. See similar questions...

Like most other M models, the level of standard and optional equipment for the E34 M5 varies significantly from year to year and market to market. Major exterior options (standard in some markets) include power sunroof, metallic paint, heated headlight washers, Shadowline (dechromed) trim and a body-color rear spoiler. Like the E28 M5, the E34 M5's hand-built nature allowed even more variation on the interior. See similar questions...

All M5s built before May, 1994 have a Getrag 280/5 five-speed manual gearbox with the following ratios: 3.51 (1), 2.08 (2), 1.35 (3), 1.00 (4), 0.81 (5). These cars have a 3.91:1 final drive, with the exception of North American-spec E34 M5s built to 1992 and 1993 specification which have a taller 3.73:1 final drive for better fuel economy. of May, 1994 production, the five-speed was replaced with a Getrag Type D six-speed manual box with the following ratios: 4.23 (1), 2.52 (2), 1.66 (3), 1. See similar questions...

All M5s built before May, 1994 have upgraded vented front disc brakes measuring 12.4-inches. The rear rotors measure 11.8-inches in diameter and are vented as of 10/89 production. The May, 1994 update brought even larger front and rear brakes (now 13.6-inches and 12.8-inches, respectively) and the front rotors were changed to a two-piece "floating" design for better heat dissipation. See similar questions...

The E34 M5's chassis is based on the MacPherson strut/semi-trailing arm design of the normal E34 5 Series but incorporates the following changes from BMW Motorsport: All 3.8-liter M5s are further fitted with the Adaptive M Suspension, an M-tuned version of the Electronic Damping Control system that was introduced in the E32 7 Series. See similar questions...

Like all E34 5 Series, the E34 M5 uses a recirculating ball steering design, but the overall ratio is reduced from 16.2:1 to 15.6:1. Two types of power assistance were offered: An engine-speed sensitive system was fitted to all European-spec 3.6-liter M5s and on North American models built before September, 1991. A vehicle-speed sensitive system developed by ZF and called Servotronic was available on European-spec 3. See similar questions...

Though the basic architecture of the interior is identical to that of any E34 5 Series, the M5 interior does have a few unique items: The unique instrument cluster contains red needles, an oil temperature gauge under the tachometer (instead of an economy gauge) and an M logo between the speedometer and tachometer. See similar questions...

The early E34 M5 uses an evolution of the 24-valve inline-six found in the E28 M5 and E24 M635CSi/M6. Designated S38 B36, the engine technically remains a 3.5-liter, with a bore of 93.4mm (same as the previous engine) and a stroke of 86mm (up 2mm on the early S38) for a total capacity of 3535cc (up from 3453cc). The added stroke is due to a new forged steel crankshaft, though the camshafts were also changed. Compression is up slightly (10:1 versus 9.8:1). See similar questions...

Except for minor trim and equipment variations, there were few revisions to the original European-spec E34 M5 during its production. The first major round of changes occurred with the introduction of the more powerful 3.8-liter M5 in late 1991. Along with the larger engine, the 3.8-liter M5 brought Adaptive M Suspension, a reduced-effort clutch and a myriad of cosmetic alterations. Also, the M5 Touring was added at this time. See similar questions...

Of the 1,678 examples of the E34 M5 produced for North America (USA and Canada), the following are the production totals for each of the three model years: NOTE: Though technically 1991 models, E34 M5s built for North America before 9/90 were actually built to 1990 specification. These comprise 495 of the 1,280 1991 models produced. See similar questions...

In addition to items mandated by different government regulations such as imperial versus metric instrumentation, the U.S and Canadian E34 M5s differ in the following ways: Leather trim: Nappa leather on seats only, optional Extended trim with Nappa leather on center console, door pulls, glovebox door See similar questions...