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Retro Spin: 1988 BMW M5

25 Years After Launch, Original M5 Still Stirs The Soul "How would you like to drive a 1988 M5 up Highway 1?" That wasn't a call I was expecting, especially in the late summer of 2010. As far as I was concerned, any car from the 1980s still on the road was sure to be showing a few hundred thousand miles, springs coming through the seats and air conditioning blowing warm. We all have a short list of favorite vehicles that most will never see, let alone drive. However, BMW North America was on the other end of the phone, and the vehicle we were discussing had been pulled out of a ... Read More

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    MISC 1988 BMW M5
    Video: Chris Harris explains what makes his own 1986 BMW M5 so special
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    The 70s were a definitive decade for music and movies. Fashion and cars, not so much. The 80s corrected one of those oversights, an era of ethereal supercars like the Porsche 959, game-changing exotics like the Ferrari Testarossa, and, best of all, everday cannons that offered mortals a generous portion of lairy thrills, such as Chris Harris' 1986 e28 BMW ...

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    MISC 1988 BMW M5
    Official: 2013 BMW M5 configurator revs up
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    With a starting MSRP of $90,695, the 2013 BMW M5 is spendy to begin with. But loading it up with all the trimmings, you'll see a sticker price north of $116,000. And we know this because we just spent a few minutes playing with the M5 configurator, which is now live on the BMW consumer website. While we're not really that shocked by the price, we are ...

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    MISC 1988 BMW M5
    Pics Aplenty: BMW celebrates 40 years of M
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    When we think of the BMW M division, the 1978 M1 comes instantly to mind, followed by the E30 M3 and then the 2001-2002 M Coupe. But the company's in-house hot rod shop actually dates back to 1972, when it was formed as a subsidiary to manage the company's racing operations, dubbed BMW Motorsport. It was this month 40 years ago that what is known today ...

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    MISC 1988 BMW M5
    Video: BMW teases new M3 and M5 M Performance Editions
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    BMW has posted two teasers to YouTube, previewing M Performance versions of both the M3 and M5. These look to be specially produced for the UK market, and limited to just 30 units of each model in either red, white or blue. Little information accompanies the low-res videos, saving that each of the cars is being fitted with "an impressively high ...

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    MISC 1988 BMW M5
    Video: Listen to BMW's new M5 with its Active Sound system enabled vs. disabled [w/poll]
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    Pushrods and overhead valves or dual overhead cams; naturally aspirated, turbocharged or supercharged; it simply doesn't matter – there's nothing quite like the sound of a powerful V8 engine. Or is there? The engineers from BMW have been known to make some beautifully melodic powerplants over the years, but the Bavarian automaker has more recently ...

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    MISC 1988 BMW M5
    Official: BMW M5 called in to service as new Ring Taxi
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    There's any number of cars that can be used for taxis. The Ford Crown Vic, Nissan NV, Toyota Sienna... pretty much anything with a useable back seat, a cargo area and a roof on which to put a dome light. But a BMW M5? Surely that has to be overkill, right? Maybe for most taxis, but this is no ordinary cab. This is the Ring Taxi. Operated by BMW and ...

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    MISC 1988 BMW M5
    Official: BMW prices 6 Series Gran Coupe, M5 and M6 for U.S.
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    If you've been saving your spare change to pick up one of these new BMW models later this year, well, now you can more accurately estimate how many wheelbarrows full of nickels you'll need to dump into the Coinstar machine at your local grocery store. We'll start with the 2013 6 Series Gran Coupe. While we already knew the six-cylinder 640i Gran Coupe ...

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    MISC 1988 BMW M5
    Official: BMW to field 2013 M5 in One Lap Of America
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    The new BMW M5 is taking a one-week, 3,300-mile U.S. road trip, and not only will it tour the skeevy diners, restless rest areas and truck-stop toilets of this fine land, it'll eat up its tires on nine of our nation's finest tracks. If you think that sounds like the Tire Rack One Lap of America, you'd be correct. In addition to providing the official ...

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    MISC 1988 BMW M5
    Geneva: AC Schnitzer rocks a matte blue hue with the ACS5 Sport
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    The new 2012 BMW M5 produces an impressive 560 horsepower and 502 pound-feet of torque, but for companies like AC Schnitzer, the 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 presents only a starting point. The German tuning company unveiled the new ACS5 Sport here at the Geneva Motor Show this week, managing to squeeze and additional 60 hp and 81 lb-ft from the ...

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    MISC 1988 BMW M5
    Video: Chris Harris + M5 + GT-R. You'll want to watch this
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    Pitting the Nissan GT-R against the all-new BMW M5 is ridiculous. They're two different beasts in two different classes with two different purposes. It's a cynical, SEO-optimized comparison. And even worse, it's already been done. But... We can't help but post on it. Not because it's clicky or that a few of us have man-crushes on Chris Harris. No. It's ...

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