The E39 was BMW’s successor to the E34 five series. The car was introduced in 1996 but was out almost a year later in the USA and mainland Europe. Produced from 1997-2003, the E39 5 Series is one of the most successful and lauded model series in BMW’s history. The awards the E39 has won over its seven-year run include four AutoWeek "America’s Best" awards, seven Edmunds.com "Most Wanted" awards, six Car and Driver 10Best awards, and a total of twelve Automobile Magazine All-Star awards. In its last full calendar year of sales, the 5 Series set an all-time sales record of nearly 41,000 units in the U.S.
The E39 is more streamlined than the E34. The E39 is only slightly heavier than the E34 due to aluminum suspension components. The E39 was introduced as a four door coupe, with the touring model appearing a year later. Unlike the E34, there is no four wheel drive model.
In Europe there were no longer any four-cylinder 5 Series cars offered, while in America the 5 Series offerings dwindled to just the six-cylinder 528i and the V8-powered 540i sedan for 1997. With 190 hp on tap and five gears aboard either its manual or automatic transmissions, the 528i was a solid performing machine despite its position as the entry-level 5. The 540i, on the other hand, now had a full 282 hp that was lashed either to five-speed automatic or six-speed manual transmissions after a displacement bump to 4.4 liters (a change not reflected in the car’s name). The six-speed included a "Sport" package of an aggressive suspension and oversize wheels and tires to produce something nearly M5ish in nature.
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