I toyed briefly with the idea of an E34 M5, and more seriously with the idea of an E34 540i Sport. The latter was a limited production model in 1995 that used the European M suspension and body kit, but had the V8 and 6 speed manual from a 540. The 540i Sport makes sense to me over an M5 since it is two years newer than any US market M5s (last imported in 93) and doesn't have the complex 6 cylinder that the M5 does. Performance is nearly identical at low speeds, though the M5 does a bit better up high.
In the end, I decided against the E34 for a couple of reasons. First, the cars are expensive for their age. A nice 540i Sport or M5 will cost in the mid- to upper-20s, and you probably don't want anything but the best low mileage example you can find. That's a lot of money to pay for a nearly 10 year old car, especially if you are going to use it as a daily driver (and thus expect durability above all else). Second, and perhaps more importantly, the car is just more vehicle than I need. The E34 in M suspension trim is an impressive car for its size, but it still weighs two tons. Compared to the E46, the E34 feels very, very large. Since I don't have kids and only rarely haul more than one person, the extra weight and loss of precision feel just wasn't necessary.
They sure are nice looking, though. There's an M5 occasionally in my parking garage, and I drool every time I see it. I will say that if you get one, scotch the Alpina wheel upgrade plan. The 17" throwing stars are some of the nicest looking wheels out there, and the later M parallels (used on the Euro M5 and later the 740i Sport) are even better.
VinceTopasBlau3 said:
Hey all 
time to confess my fetish for the E34 M5. Had this fixation on this model ever since I realized my department chair drives one to school everyday. I even took the guts to talk to him about his M5 once in the lift. The conversation even ended with this from him "It has 340hp and has 4 doors!".
Something about the "macho-ness" of the E34 M5 that got hold of me. Not to the extend of sleepless nights, but strong enough to make me think twice about trading in for one. Eversince I took my E46 325i last year, I will encounter at least one E34 in LA almost everyday. Perhaps the *sign* has come?
And of course, if in_d_haus remember, we saw a black one at BimmerFest 02.
The E34 M5 should be really sexy with a set of Alpina softline wheels, and perhaps the spoilers to dress it up like a B10 Biturbo.
Would like to hear from everyone here. Help out alpina.nut here. Help me get out of this web of confusion.
I am ALL ears...
Btw this one is up for sale... yummy...