Brands throw themselves anniversary celebrations all the time. BMW just happens to do it a lot. For the 2015 model year, BMW celebrated 30 years of the M5 with the “30 Jahre M5” edition. Now, the M5 is another five years older and you know what that means. Say hello to the 2020 BMW M5 Edition 35 Years. Yeesh, that’s a name.
The Edition 35 Years is based off of the current M5 Competition, which means that it has the same 617-horsepower engine. But this one is painted a metallic dark gray color with 20-inch Y-spoke alloy wheels and has black brake calipers, according to a press release.
All of that is pretty boring, if you ask me. The real reason to buy this car is on the inside.
It’s clothed in black and beige leather, but the trims are finished in something BMW calls, “gold anodized aluminium carbon structure.” Basically, gold-coated trims. They’re found on the instrument panel, door trim sections and center console. Gold is dangerous because it can be disgusting and tacky, but it works well here, I think.
This is the only discernible reason to buy the elder-millennial M5. Gray paint? Black wheels? That’s all normie stuff. Give me that sweet, sweet gold interior that you can’t find on any other M5.
Thirty-five years ago, BMW introduced the very first M5 for the E28 generation. It used a naturally aspirated and de-tuned version of a racing straight-six, had a five-speed manual and was rear-drive. Today’s F90-generation is a far cry from the original in that it has all-wheel drive (sometimes), a twin-turbo V8 and an eight-speed automatic.
BMW is limiting the “M5 Edition 35 Jahre” to only 350 worldwide examples, with 35 of the coming here to the U.S. They’ll be available in the fall and carry a price tag of $128,995. Think it’s worth it over a standard M5 Competition, which starts at around $110,000?
