stage photograph © Carmen Hörler
Which is the most legendary BMW M model? It’s a question that will probably never be answered objectively, but this community has no hesitation in giving its answer: the BMW M5, of course. Launched in 1985, this model – regarded as a co-founder, if not the founder, of the high-performance sedan class, and which has lost none of its allure to this day – is the star of the show on this alpine road trip.
Although the multinational group led by organiser Bruno Ternay has a particular fondness for the third generation of the M5 – the BMW M5 E39 – all enthusiasts of the ‘one and only’ high-performance sedan are welcome here. After all, at the heart of the “BMW M5 Classic Grand Alpine Tour” lies the thrill of travelling through the most beautiful landscapes of Central Europe in this exceptionally powerful model and savouring the core strengths of this vehicle.
GRAND ALPINE TOUR.
Photography © Carmen Hörler
I drive an M5 E39. It’s the perfect road car! 5L V8, 6-speed gearbox, a perfect family car, but you can also have fun on mountain passes with it.
© Carmen Hörler
MORE THAN JUST A COLLECTOR’S ITEM.
MORE THAN JUST A COLLECTOR’S ITEM.
The main tour took the community along the most scenic roads in the Alps, including the Furka Pass in Switzerland and the Grossglockner High Alpine Road in Austria. After a detour to the Speyer Technical Museum, the final stop was Munich – home to BMW and BMW M. Naturally, a visit to BMW Welt and the legendary Vierzylinder building was a must.
COMMUNITY MEET-UP AS A BONUS.
COMMUNITY MEET-UP AS A BONUS.
Brothers Malte and Julius from Germany were also keen not to miss this opportunity to get together; they arrived in their BMW M5 in Cosmos Black metallic. They’d bought the car from an enthusiast who’d acquired it from their grandfather a few years ago but had never used it. It is a true collector’s item with great sentimental value for the two of them: “Our grandad was a smoker; there are still a few cigarette burns in the floor. The original buyer had left the M5 sitting unused in a barn for nine years – and now it’s back with us. We’ll pass it on to our children one day.”
“We’ll pass it on to our children one day.”
THE JOURNEY IS THE DESTINATION.
THE JOURNEY IS THE DESTINATION.
Thordur Magnusson from Iceland has travelled by far the greatest distance: the enthusiast first shipped his BMW M5 E39 from Iceland to Germany by ferry, before driving south to the starting point of the road trip. The M5 community is special to him: “There is a good dynamic, no problems occured and I really look forward to see them all again!”
Tenny and Parveen from Scotland didn’t have much of a shorter journey: they drove all the way in their BMW M5 Touring E61 to take part in this unique experience amongst like-minded people. Unfortunately, they didn’t manage to make it without a breakdown: “In the mountains, I hit a curb. So we put the spare tire on and went to a tire shop to fix it later.” Why do they drive the rare M5 Touring with a V10 engine? “I love the character of this car – it’s fantastic.”
