1993 BMW M5 3.8 (E34)

A 3.8-litre M5 like this one is the more desirable option and they command a premium, in part thanks to their electronically controlled adaptive damping (EDC). This allows you to choose between hard and very hard suspension settings. It’s a highly effective system, however, it does wear out and is fiendishly expensive to replace.

Many owners choose to fit aftermarket suspension with regular coil springs to get around this problem, and this car has suspension provided by Eibach coil springs with Bilstein dampers – both top quality parts.

In 1994 the five-speed gearbox gained a sixth ratio, which did little for performance really, and the earlier five speed is considered by some as the sweeter unit – it certainly doesn’t feel like you need that sixth gear. But it’s the engine that’s the real heart of the car. And they’re quite special.

With the blue blood of the Groups 2 CSLs and the M1 coursing through its veins, the M5’s 3.8-litre straight six is anything but an ordinary internal combustion engine. Each unit was hand built in BMW Motorsport’s Garching plant. A longer stroke forged steel crankshaft upped the capacity, compression went up to 10:1, hotter cams boosted the power output and Bosch Motronic electronic engine management controlled the fuel delivery via the six individual, motorsport inspired throttle bodies.

The engines are tough and can exceed 200k miles with regular servicing, but the cars can suffer from rust damage. Thankfully, this one has been the subject of a thorough bodywork restoration, with new sills, front wings and part rear wings fitted, plus a host of new mechanical parts to bring it back to rude health.

I know we’re supposed to try to stick to the facts here, but this is a fabulous period colour. In a world of silver 4x4s this E34 M5 really stands out. It’ll stand out even among other M5s too – we can’t recall ever seeing one in this shade on the flesh before. I guess you either like it or you don’t, but if you’ve read this far, we’re assuming you’re in the former camp.

The recent paint looks just that – fresh and shiny, and appears to be well applied too. All the panel gaps are as they should be and the car looks straight, and sits well on its M-

Sport alloy wheels, which are the correct fitment, with eight inch width at the front and nine at the back. This is a proper performance car. These shiny alloys accommodate four new Michelin tyres as well.

The body colour coded wavy boot spoiler is another indicator that this car is a serious cut above your average E34, as is the front air dam, with an air intake at either end to provide cooling for the front brakes.

Minor faults we spotted were a door trim in need of another retaining clip on the nearside and a slight scuffing of the paint and rubber bumper insert on the offside front.

The interiors of this period of BMWs aren’t walls of leather like newer variants, and the M5 cloth seats are about as early Nineties as they get, and none the worse for that. They don’t tend to last as well as some, but this one has survived pretty well, although we think it’s fair to say that the cabin isn’t quite as smart as the car’s exterior.

The plastic mouldings on the seatbacks have various marks and scuffs – we suggest a good interior detailer could well be able to lose a lot of these. There’s also a small mark on the rear seat squab on the car’s offside, and the front nearside door trim seems to be missing a clip at its rear end.

The transmission tunnel carpet in the passenger footwell looks to have a few chunks missing from it where it joins the plastic trim panel – it may just need reseating so this area is no longer visible. In addition the plastic moulding on the driver’s door card has scuff marks – probably as a result of people using their feet to keep the door open when exiting the car.

The above are all fairly minor issues and we think that with some time and effort invested, the cabin could raise its level quite substantially. The good thing is that there are no tears or splits in the seat material and everything appears to be in place, with no missing parts.

The 3.8-litre straight six M-Sport engine – hand built, remember – is a petrolhead’s delight. The Black paint on the cam cover could do with a spruce up as it would really lift the look of the engine bay, especially as it’s such a good looking engine (no unsightly plastic covers here), but overall under the bonnet makes for rewarding viewing.

There is evidence of slight coolant weeps around the hoses going into the water pump, but we suspect these are historic and just need cleaning off. Either way, the new owner would be wise to keep an eye on the coolant levels and check the tightness of the hose clips.

Like the interior, some time spent cleaning up some of the smaller alloy parts and generally titivating the engine bay would make a huge difference to how it looks.

This M5’s current keeper is an extremely enthusiastic collector of these fine cars. He owns several and needs to thin his collection to make room for other projects. He says:

‘I am a petrol head. My father ran a large auto business post war, the spin off being Brian Hart’s F1 engine business (he was my dad’s partner’s son.) Hart engines provided Ayrton Senna with his first F1 finish in a Toleman /Hart.

‘So I collect the cars that I like. I have five E34 M5s, an E-type Jag, and a Healey 3000, amongst others. With nine cars in total I need space, so a couple have got to go, this M5 being one of them.

‘It’s been restored, with new sills, rear wings, front wings, and a full respray. It’s also been gone through mechanically, with brakes lines, Bilstein /Eibach dry suspension, 8/9 inch rims, new tyres, a recent exhaust, and all fluids.

‘It’s a rare car – one of only 300-odd right hand drive 3.8-litre cars, and it’s also in a rare colour, Daytona Violet. It’s also a matching numbers car.’

The E34 M5 is one of the purest of the breed ever built, with that hand assembled engine and finely tuned chassis. And with only 343 right hand drive 3.8-litre cars built – and considerably fewer than that surviving – you don’t see them come up for sale very often. This one is sound and in a rare colour too. Quite an opportunity for the serious collector of performance classics.

Our estimate for this car is £16,000 - £23,000.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with the seller in Thame, Oxfordshire. Please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing to arrange viewing the vehicle. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.