Anyone who lovingly cares for their E39 M5s knows how much broken parts for these cars cost, although most owners are probably guilty of getting carried away at times by the performance on tap with this car. Although newer versions of the M5 have more power and can lap circuits much faster than the E39 M5, this variant has remained a favorite because of the sense of balance it imparts to the driver. Even now, with more powerful cars superseding its performance, the E39 M5 still manages to make its owners smile just by looking at it or when flooring the throttle.

The race starts from a rollout to 65 km/h, after which the drivers floor the throttles on their respective cars. The M5 at first jumps in front of the 3-series Bimmer, probably due to the M5’s torquey V8 and also due to the turbo lag in the 328′s setup. But when the 328 gets on boost, well, you just have to see for yourself.

This 2003 E39 M5 has been fited with Supersprint headers, a custom x-pipe and Flowmaster mufflers. Of interest is a custom rear valance with a center exit system for the exhaust pipes. It removes the telltale quad pipes that tell onlookers that what they’re looking at is no ordinary 5-series BMW. Too bad the lighting wasn’t good enough to show clearly how it looks.

The rest of this car’s setup includes Work VS-XX 20-inch wheels, Bilstein PSS9 coilovers and an Evolve-R Alpha-N tune for the ECU. There’s sure to be other stuff that also is in the car. The first part of video shows how fierce the acceleration of a well-tuned E39 M5 can be, and a decade after its introduction, shows how potent a car an E39 M5 still is.

Enthusiasts wanting to get into one of these things can follow the example set by a UK magazine, which bought an Alpina B10 and converted it to LPG. According to their long-term testing, performance did not suffer at all and the hearty exhaust note was still there. And they were able to enjoy the car much more because of the cheaper cost of fuel. If you are a BMW enthusiast who’s getting frustrated by not finding the perfect E39 M5, considering an Alpina B10 as an alternative is food for thought.

See long-term summary here.

Another compelling feature of the new car is the engine, which is a V8 in the mold of the E39 M5. Again, this seems to be a more proper mill for the M5, as just like the E39, the F10 has gobs of torque low in the rev range, which makes for much better drive-ability. Although the S85 V10 is in a league of its own, it could only really be enjoyed in the upper rev ranges. Of course, since the competition now boasts of 500 horsepower motors, it’s only fitting that the engine on the new M5 be fitted with turbos to exceed that kind of output. You would think that because of the turbos, the F10 M5 would have a subdued sound. But BMW’s M division is a master of engine tuning, so extracting the right tone from the fuel-efficient, turbocharged motor is child’s play for them. Those who’ve missed the earthy, goose bump-inducing growl of BMW’s 32-valve V8 in an M5 will the rejoice at the return of an 8-cylinder beast that surpasses the performance of the V10 in every way.

And the sounds this F10 M5 makes with a stock exhaust set up are incredible… it’s likely going to slow sales for the aftermarket exhaust tuners, because the factory exhaust set up sounds great.

Watch and listen to the video below and decide for yourself.

As you will see, these cars are very evenly matched, and who will win or lose in a variety of faceoffs will depend a lot on the driver. Whether a specific course will favor one or the other will once again depend on the track as a course with plenty of tight curves will probably favor the E36 M3. A course that favors a torquey car will most likely help the V8-powered M5. On the street, the E39 M5 would be the better choice as a daily driver in terms of comfort. On the other hand, the E36 M3, with its relatively smaller engine will have better fuel economy.

The best situation of course would be to own both cars, dedicating the E36 for fast road and track day use and keeping the E39 M5 stock for use as a daily driver.

Watch how an E39 M5 with an ECU tune and freer-flowing exhaust matches up to this M3. You don’t see too many engine swaps on M cars because they’re very well balanced as they come. Owners who want more power out of their M cars usually settle for an ECU reflash if they want just a little more power. For the ones who want big gains, the common route is through forced induction. But a more powerful normally aspirated engine is also a well-established route to a much-improved power-to-weight ratio, and you will see the justification for this mod in the clip below.

Making things just that little bit crazier is the fact that DSC has been disengaged. The car’s not well-suited to the track because it’s narrow and twisty, and you’ll notice the driver staying in one gear a lot of the time. But it’s fun to see the car stepping out once in a while and the driver making large corrections to keep the car in line. While a 600 horsepower M5 sounds just right, you’ll also need to find a suitable track to make the most of that power.

Posting videos like these can sometimes be the reason for the law to come knocking on your door and it’s probably a good idea that the car is tinted. Because BMW M5s bring out the teenager in you, it’s best not to be easily identified for all the world to see how silly your car can sometimes make you, even if it’s all in good fun.

In the case of this E39 M5, the owner added more than 50% horsepower mainly through the use of a supercharger kit from RMS, boosting at 9 psi. Engine internals remain stock, although a set of Supersprint headers were also installed to help with the exhaust flow. The engine reportedly makes more than 600 hp now so an upgraded clutch was installed and a set of KW coilovers were used to upgrade the suspension. No carbon fiber body parts will be found here, as the car still bears its stock weight.

The video will show how hard the car launches and the sound of the V8 is just beautiful. You’ll want to repeat the video a couple of times just to hear that beautiful V8 song. 600 horsepower cars from the major manufacturers are pretty common these days, but this E39 M5 has matched that figure with the addition of forced induction and some intelligent tuning.