Catching the snow-covered badging also speaks a bit about how this M5 is used. To be sure, BMW did not intend its M5s to be garage queens but rather daily drivers, in any weather. Seeing the snow on this M5 hints at the fact that this particular car is being used through the winter. Some M-car lovers may cringe at this but isn’t the M5 a family sedan first and a high-performance car second?

See fantastic hi-res pic here.

Aesthetically, these RD2s look very nice on the E39 M5. The spokes look very delicate and contrast nicely with the fat lip that you’d find on a wide rear wheel. Performance-wise though, one wonders if these wheels have the strength to take some hard driving. The S62 is quite the torquey beast and the spokes seem to be a bit on the thin side, seeing that they have see-through centers. We’ll see how these wheels hold up over time. The original poster has some mods on his car that looks to have improved the power nicely and his addition of cosmetic mods has made his E39 M5 a more rounded beast.

See the pictures here.

The pictures aren’t run of the mill snapshots, because the owner seems to be an accomplished shutterbug. His pics of the car bring out the best angles and the pics are surprisingly pleasant to look at. When winter hits, the car will receive a few upgrades in the comfort of a garage, ready to hit the road again when the sun comes up and the roads dry out.

See some pretty cool E39 M5 clone pics here.

Splitters definitely give a meaner look to the front end of an E39 M5 but that’s it. Unless you have full side skirts and an undertray at the minimum, there’s no aero benefit. Even some E39 M5 aficionados will say that putting splitters on the E39 M5 does not complement its more classically styled shape. On the Bangle-era designs, front splitters definitely look good on the M5 and M3. But for the E39 M5, it’s not as universally accepted.

But the whole point of customizing a car is to make it individual and beautiful for the owner. As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if a mod makes an owner smile everytime he steps out of his house, who’s to say it’s ugly?

See the splitter pics here.

What makes the viewer actually give this picture a second look is what is not in the picture. The title for the picture is “Take the back way”. After learning of the title, you look at the picture in a different light because yes, this is the type of car where you look for the twisting and undulating back roads, the better to feel the driving dynamics that E39 M5s are known and respected for. Looking at the picture, your imaginaton runs wild, thinking of shifting at the redline, attacking an apex, hauling on the brakes for a sharp corner then flooring the throttle at the corner exit. Then, after the man and machine interaction, turning on the A/C for a little quiet time and a mutual show of respect and finally parking the car, shutting the engine off and hearing the engine oil drip dripping into the pan as it cools down.

See the picture here and click on the photo to view the large size.

Other notable examples of the varied ideas owners have for their cars include an open-top M5, an E39 M5 ute (Australia-speak for pickup), and an M5 that has been converted into a 2-door with E30 M3-looking fender flares. One notable E39 M5 is a white touring version, which was never produced by BMW. Only one official example was ever made, and it was for the engineering director of the M division at that time. Other touring versions have popped up, which are basically E39 Tourings with M5 underpinnings.

Love them or hate them, all these varied E39 M5s may look different from each other, but one thing’s for sure. They all have the same fantastic performance that belies the executive car they all came from.

See the weird and wonderful E39 M5 variants here.

The two cars pictured are very beautiful and well-kept examples of the M division’s products, and looking at the series of pictures, one can imagine a pair of very fast cars taking on the road. And both cars look best in the pictures that show them on the undulating road sections, where you just know that both cars will be stomping on those roads with aplomb. While both cars’ tailpipes are dead giveaways to what the cars really are, looking at the E39 M5 from the front or the side doesn’t really reveal the nature of the beast. It looks just like the family or executive car that BMW intended it to be, and which continues with the newer generations.

See the gallery here.

The set shows the cars in various groups shots, but what strikes the viewer is how ordinary-looking the E39 M5 can look, specially from the side. They look just like the mid-size executive cars that they are based on. Of course, when one blasts by you and you see the quad tailpipes, you will realize that the 5-series BMW’s rear that your are seeing isn’t a normal one. More so if the driver is accelerating from you and you get to hear the beautiful sound of that V8 with its twin-cam heads.

See the pictures here.

As for the two-tone interiors that some E39 M5s come with, it’s going to be a matter of personal preference already if that color scheme is going to be appreciated or not. What’s nice to see is that whether you put black wheels, black polished rim wheels or polished larger-diameter wheels, the final look is still quite pleasing to the eye. The understated lines of the E39 M5 coupled with bright red paint and an engine that sounds ready to rumble makes for a combination that is unique among four-door sedans.

See red E39 M5s here.

A case in point is this black E39 M5. Sporting black wheels but not much else in the way of body mods, you will see that the car is very well taken care of. The paint is perfect in its mirror finish, the glass is clear and without scratches and the tan interior is practically unscuffed. It’s hard to believe that this generation of M5 is more than 10 years old. And the condition of this particular example is not an exception. We have seen plenty of pristine examples of the E39 M5 in this blog and it’s a safe bet that this  example is not the last pristine E39 M5 we will see.

See the picture gallery here.