blueoval4life, how long until this is a member ride thread?
4.0L-Powered 1994 BMW 530i Touring 6-Speed
Bid for the chance to own a 4.0L-Powered 1994 BMW 530i Touring 6-Speed at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #34,149.
bringatrailer.com
This 4.0-Liter V-8-Swapped BMW E34 5-Series Wagon Is a Perfect Nineties Sleeper
BMW never brought the M5 Touring here, but you can get something almost as good.
Among American enthusiasts, the Mercedes-AMG E63 Wagon is largely heralded as the best jack-of-all-trades, master-of-most vehicle on sale. But now Audi's launching an RS6 Avant here to fight for that title. BMW, meanwhile, is sitting out the wagon wars. The Bavarians never brought the M5 Touring to the States. The good news is, you can buy something pretty close.
Welcome to You Must Buy, our daily look at the cars you really should be buying instead of that boring commuter sedan.
Not only can you get a souped-up Bimmer wagon, but you can get one from the glory days of the company. Rather than the more digital and bloated M-cars of today, this wagon is a light, simple E34. Originally sold as a 530i with a 3.0-liter V-8, it's been M60 swapped. That means a 4.0-liter V-8, bringing around 280 horsepower.
But a big engine doesn't make a perfect sleeper by itself. So this car also got a new Getrag six-speed manual, a limited-slip differential, and CAtuned coilovers. It's got bigger brakes and tires, too, while most other suspension parts have recently been upgraded or replaced.
It's not a exactly an M5 Touring, of course. The actual E34 M5 had an S38 inline-six engine, with later European models displacing 3.8 liters and producing 335 hp. It also got adjustable suspension, with BMW's EDCIII+ electronic damper control allowing drivers to switch between comfort and track settings. This homebrew version doesn't have any of that, though, with less power and no electronic suspension adjustment.
Since you're likely not going to find a one-of-891 E35 M5 Touring that you can import for less, though, it's the easiest way to get a classic almost-M5 Wagon.
