Buy This Not That: E34 M5 Touring Edition

"DailyTurismo" (thedailyturismo) 01/27/2014 at 14:29 • Filed to: Daily Turismo

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The E34 M5 is a pretty rare beasty in any form, so without any firsthand experience you might stumble across this ad for a 20-year-old imported wagon and say "so what?" This is when you slap yourself for evening thinking this isn't the most awesome car ever.

Madeira is a small picturesque island off the coast of Portugal, known for its natural beauty, tourist attractions, and the variety of fortified wine they originated there. This editor has been kicked in the ass by many a glass of Madeira, which can have a sweet grapey taste that is clearly based on wine but much more potent and complex in flavor. Apparently someone who wanted a BMW M5 Touring (wagon) in 1994 liked the idea of a fortifed E34; based on the regular wagon but much more potent and complex, with a wine-colored paintjob - Madeirashwartz (Madeira black) metallic.This S38B38-powered beast makes a glorious fortified whine at full song - okay, end of bad pun. Find this !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! for sale in Mission Viejo, CA for $22,500 via craigslist.

First of all - the E34 M5 Touring was never officially imported to the US; keep your internet searching eyes peeled and you will find one on the market every few months however. Secondly, this car has the later Euro-only version of the boss hoss !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the final B38 / 3.8L incarnation that made 340 bhp from the factory through its individual throttle bodies, higher 10.5:1 compression, coil-on-plug ignition, more advanced engine management system, and Inconel (!) tubular exhaust header.

The driving experience in an E34 M5 is raw but refined, taut yet comfortable, and punctuated by an intoxicating sound emanating from that big racing-derived I6 that barely fits under the hood. Above 4krpm it just wants to pull, and will wind all the way out past 7k - and it wants to be driven there. It pleads you to rev into the fun zone. The "whine" sound I referenced earlier isn't a bad thing, but more of a turbiney sound that lets you know this isn't some wiener commuter car lump shoving you forward.

This particular car is allegedly only one of 5 ordered in this color (which looks like a darker / more palatable version of the loud Daytona Violet to my eyes). According to the seller it was legally imported in 2008 and has DOT / EPA certification and current California registration. This is awesome if true, but worth digging into for details, since importing a foreign market car less than 25 years old into the US isn't the easiest thing in the world.

The black leather and wood interior looks in great shape for the age, with no major flaws visible. Drive it and enjoy it, especially since the driver-centric interior layout of the E34 works great with the sporty bolstered seats in the M5 and makes the driver feel like the true commander of the vessel. All ahead full - set sail for Madeira (or maybe just the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in California's grape-rich Central Valley).

The seller's website has many more !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! - and this person seems to be immersed in '80s - '90s ///M product - a good problem to have!

See a more awesomer Eurowagon? email us here: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Originally words by Cflo posted as !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

Brian Silvestro > DailyTurismo 01/27/2014 at 14:30

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This is the best car BMW has ever made. Period.

505Turbeaux > DailyTurismo 01/27/2014 at 14:32

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Dat Techno-violet. If I had more time I would clear out the entire collection and buy this thing. Even has the double sunroof I THINK

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > DailyTurismo 01/27/2014 at 14:34

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DailyTurismo > 505Turbeaux 01/27/2014 at 14:35

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My understanding is that this is a Madeirashwart car, and while it looks like Techno Violet, it is indeed darker and less blingy. Techno violet E36 M3s automatics were the bane of my E36 M3 search days - I almost gave up trying to find a good 5spd in silver... :)

505Turbeaux > DailyTurismo 01/27/2014 at 14:41

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It did look a tad darker. I love it. Ugh the e36 would be horrid in this. Especially a 4 door auto

911e46z06 > DailyTurismo 01/27/2014 at 15:04

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Oh man. I may have to go check this out.

Doug DeMuro > DailyTurismo 01/27/2014 at 15:27

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Gorgeous...

Dunnik > DailyTurismo 01/27/2014 at 16:31

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S H: now with more letters! > DailyTurismo 01/27/2014 at 16:42

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Haha, I saw this same car at Cars and Coffee this past Saturday (you can tell it is the same one as the emblem on the grill is missing some paint):

gmctavish needs more space > DailyTurismo 01/27/2014 at 19:53

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digitalshockwave > Doug DeMuro 01/28/2014 at 01:54

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Doug, an E34 M5 is the car you really should have bought all along. I'm buying one myself, likely a touring at that if I can work out a reasonable deal with the current owner, as a stablemate to my E30 M3 and E36 M3 (S50B30). That will be it for BMW for me, as any further acquisitions at some point in the future (when finances and space are available) will be from other makes from the same era...

GARedE34 > Doug DeMuro 01/28/2014 at 10:20

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I had a '91 M5 (hence my screen name) and would have held onto it if I'd been making more money back then... Even looking back now, I should have kept that thing and made it work a little longer. It was a head turner and sounded like nothing else out there.

A few years later I looked at a '93 gray market Touring version. I was really tempted but needed a more realistic daily driver since I'm on the road a lot in sales. I can't recommend looking at this car enough to anyone who is tempted though; it's a fantastic engine in what I would consider to be one of the most handsome wagons of all time.

Built BMW Tough > DailyTurismo 02/04/2014 at 12:13

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GIVE