Highlights

• Manual converted 
• Rod Bearings recently renewed
• Ex DriveTribe car
• 1 of 3 in the UK 
• Richard Hammond has driven this car

The Appeal

 
Back in the early 00s BMW went crazy and fitted their S85 5.0L V10 to the fairly normal 5-series family wagon. What resulted was the cult classic E61 M5 Touring. With 507 horsepower on tap and ample boot space, this is the perfect everything car. As at home on track as it is doing an Ikea run you can’t go wrong with the E61 M5 Touring.
 
This car has an interesting past when compared to other E61s. When it left the factory in 2007, it was already a rare car, being only 1 of 20 leaving in the Carbon Black colour. Through the years it has been lucky to live with a few loving owners. Two are more noteworthy than the others. The first interesting owner was a BMW specialist who cared for this car perfectly. The second, and most famous, is the YouTube channel DriveTribe who acquired it in 2022.

For those who may not know, DriveTribe is Richard Hammonds (of Top Gear & Grand Tour fame) YouTube channel.

 Over a multi-episode series, viewed by over 5.5 million people, they went through this car from front to back making it the ultimate driving machine. Of all the modifications and maintenance completed the manual conversion is the most noteworthy, closely followed by the renewal of the rod bearings.

 If you wish to know more about this car before purchasing, then all you need to do is watch these videos. Well, that’s if you’re not already part of the 5.5 million that have been captivated by its story already.
 
With such a unique history and recent expense spent, this E61 M5 Touring is ready to go out of the box. So why not go for an adventure in this rare manual M car?

 

The History and Paperwork

• First registered on 24/11/2007
• Good service history dating back to the running in service
• The original BMW book pack is still present 
• Including the sat nav DVD
• Starting life around the Glasgow area it moves down to Aberdeen and then the South of England
• It was previously owned by a renowned BMW specialist
• The history of the E61 starts to become more unique in March 2022
• DriveTrive (Richard Hammond’s YouTube channel) acquired the car for a new ‘project car’ series 
• Throughout 14 episodes, they finesse this modern classic into the best example possible
• They made some important upgrades over this series 
• The most in-depth change was to swap the SMG gearbox to a 6-speed manual unit instead
• Its rod bearings were replaced, along with the throttle actuators 
• A full service was also carried out, including fluids, spark plugs, and the diff oil
• A front-end respray was undertaken and PPF was professionally applied to protect this new paint
• If you wish to delve deeper into this car's history all you need to do is watch the YouTube videos 
• This BMW has a unique type of service history, it’s all online in video format and easy to watch
• The Vendor acquired the car towards the end of last year
• They have been able to enjoy this unique opportunity and now it’s your turn
• They’ve had a little bit of work completed to rectify a temperamental parking sensor 

 

The Condition

• 1 of 20 E61’s finished in Carbon Black from the factory
• A front-end respray has been completed recently with PPF fitted to protect it 
• Incredible condition inside and out 
• Sits on a wonderful set of 10-spoke alloy wheels 
• Fitted with a set of Bridgestone tyres
• Typical BMW estate split tailgate with electric opening and closing
• The interior is filled with high-end options
• Its Alcantara headliner was a £2-3,000 option 
• There are also re-active side bolsters to hold you in the seat along with seat heaters
• The in-car infotainment system all works as it should
• The new 6-speed gearstick fits the interior very well, it looks as if it was meant to be
• All of the interior fixtures and fittings are in great condition 
• In the boot, you’ll find the original attachable tow bar, along with the tyre inflation kit and boot dividers
• There’s also the original load cover and dog guard still present

Both the interior and exterior of the rare E61 Touring are presented in excellent condition. A quick look at the exterior returns no worrying paint bubbling or large obvious marks, this is the same for the interior.
 
During its time with DriveTribe, they completed a front-end respray and after the recommended period, they then fitted PPF (paint protection film) to protect it from stone chips.

 Its silver alloy wheels complement the dark Carbon Black paintwork well, providing some contrast. There isn’t any curb damage to these alloys. There is some minor corrosion around the BMW badge on the rear right wheel, it’s only a small area, however.

On the inside the condition matches the exterior and is presented in amazing condition. All of the leather seats are mark-free and the side bolsters for the front two seats don’t have undue wear. The front two seats also have an incredible feature where upon turning they will inflate one of the side bolsters to hold you in your seat.

 Its infotainment screen sits neatly in the dash and its early I Drive system works as it should and is still responsive on the dial. Another tech feature to mention is the head-up display for the driver.

One part of this car's history that will show on its record is a small electrical fire which was contained to the boot. This was due to a recall that wasn’t completed properly. Due to the resulting smoke damage to its Alcantara headlining the car was written off by the insurance company, unfortunately. There was no lasting damage to the structure or other parts of this M5 it was just localised to the boot of this car.
 
Overall, the condition of this rare BMW is very good. You can jump in straight away and enjoy this car to its full potential from the day you collect it.
 

 

The Mechanics

• Fitted with the legendary S85 5.0L V10 
• 6-speed manual conversion professionally carried out
• Rod Bearings recently renewed 
• Eventuri carbon fibre air intakes fitted
• New throttle actuators fitted
• Full service recently carried out
• This included new spark plugs and even the differential oil 
• DriveTribe also fitted a great set of Bridgestone Potenza tyres

The main draw of the E61 M5 is of course its S85 V10 engine that has been shoehorned under the bonnet. All E61 M5s were fitted with a semi-automatic SMG gearbox, over the years this gearbox has received lots of negative comments as it's technically an automated manual and not a fully automatic gearbox. To enjoy the car to its full potential DriveTribe swapped the original SMG unit for a six-speed manual. This has transformed the car into the ultimate driving machine that you can exploit to its full potential.

Along with the big, and expensive, job of swapping out the gearbox, they also carried out work to replace the rod bearings. The rod bearings are another point of the E61 M5 that gets talked about a lot. Now that these have been replaced by Mr Vanos (a renowned BMW specialist) you don’t need to worry about this repair. All of this work was documented by DriveTribe, and you can watch all of the process on YouTube.
 
On the day of the photos, this car performed incredibly. Pressing the start button, it turned over and fired into life quickly with a subtle cold start, we pulled away and drove to the photo location. The drive combined in-town 30mph roads and 60mph national speed limit country roads. In all situations, it was composed and performed its task with true German precision.

To protect the S85 V10 there is a soft rev limiter that increases as the fluids get up to temperature. Once everything is up to the optimal temperature you can get to explore all of the 8,250rpms. Above around 4,000rpm magic happens. An evocative combination of the exhaust note and the Eventuri induction kit makes for a memorable drive.

BEFORE YOU BUY