The band of misfits from Petrolicious have set their lenses on something truly delectable: Randy Balingit-Hartmann's 1989 BMW M5. The car is spotlessly clean, but it hasn't been sealed away in a garage somewhere for posterity. Balingit-Hartmann bought his M5 brand new, and it was one of the first models in Southern California.
Since then, he's piled over 400,000 miles on the machine bombing through the canyons and hills around San Diego. It's still running the original transmission and rear differential, though the engine has been given a substantial freshening. There's also been a bit of suspension and exhaust work to keep the car quick over all these years.
Originally, Balingit-Hartmann purchased the car in his early 20s, and had to have his father come to the dealership with him to get the salesman to take him seriously. Since then, he's kept the car through life's highs and lows and a full passel of jobs, but the M5 remained a constant. Cheers to that. You can check out the beautifully told story below, and you can check out all the videos we've covered from Petrolicioushere.
The BMW M5 is as old-school as high-performance sedans get. Name an opponent, and the M5 has taken it down. But can it hold its own against the comeback kid of 2009, the resurgent Cadillac CTS-V?
These days, everyone loves to talk about the E30 M3 and how it's skyrocketing in value. Call me a heretic, but as much as I love E30s, I think I'd take the original E28 M5 instead. It's classy, it's ultra rare, it's got a beefy straight six, and it was supposedly the fastest sedan in the world when it debuted.
These days, everyone loves to talk about the E30 M3 and how it's skyrocketing in value. Call me a heretic, but as much as I love E30s, I think I'd take the original E28 M5 instead. It's classy, it's ultra rare, it's got a beefy straight six, and it was supposedly the fastest sedan in the world when it debuted.
These days, everyone loves to talk about the E30 M3 and how it's skyrocketing in value. Call me a heretic, but as much as I love E30s, I think I'd take the original E28 M5 instead. It's classy, it's ultra rare, it's got a beefy straight six, and it was supposedly the fastest sedan in the world when it debuted.
These days, everyone loves to talk about the E30 M3 and how it's skyrocketing in value. Call me a heretic, but as much as I love E30s, I think I'd take the original E28 M5 instead. It's classy, it's ultra rare, it's got a beefy straight six, and it was supposedly the fastest sedan in the world when it debuted.
