Article Summary
- The E28 turns 45 this year, debuting in 1981 as the second-generation 5 Series with meaningful upgrades in cabin design, electronics, ABS, and suspension.
- It’s more than just the M5: the range spans everything from M10 four-cylinders to the 524td, BMW’s first diesel and the world’s fastest series-produced turbodiesel at its 1983 launch.
- The E28 M5 set the template for the modern M sedan, but today the 535i/M535i are often the enthusiast sweet spot—clean, manual examples are getting harder to find and values reflect it.
That’s right: the E28 BMW 5 Series turns 45 years old this year. Its debut in 1981 made it the second generation of the BMW 5 Series, replacing the E12. While the M5 might steal most headlines — rightly so when you consider its parts-bin partner was the legendary BMW M1 — there’s still lots to love about every E28 BMW 5 Series, from the four-pot M10-powered models to the diesel models that followed. Today, even the newest E28 is nearly 40 years old. But there’s a reason it remains sought after by collectors and enthusiasts alike.
E28 BMW 5 Series Debuts
While the first E28 BMW 5 Series arrived as a 1982 model year, production started in April 1981 ahead of the car’s autumn debut. Importantly, it was one of the earliest BMW vehicles to be designed at least partially with the help of a computer. The company only had one computer at the time. So, engineers used it to run calculations when it wasn’t otherwise occupied with parts and payroll tasks. Tweaks from the car’s predecessor were somewhat minor and primarily focused on upgrading the cabin. Notably, the E28 inherited the “driver-oriented cabin” first established in the 3 Series that came before it. Powertrain updates, more advanced electronics, anti-lock brakes, and suspension changes combined to make the E28 BMW 5 Series a marked improvement over the last 5er.
Four- and six-cylinder models were available at the E28’s launch. However, a slightly less orthodox inclusion came later: the diesel. The 524td, as it was badged, became the fastest series-produced turbodiesel in the world at the time of its launch in 1983. It was the first diesel BMW to come to market, too. Of course, there was another big first that makes the E28 simply too important to ignore today: the M5.
The E28 M5: Father of the M Sedan
The E28 BMW M5 wasn’t the first M-badged road car. It even came after the E30 M3. But its importance goes much deeper than simply being “first.” The E28 M5 was as close as you could get to being a four-door BMW M1. It too touted an M88 inline-six with nearly 288 horsepower. It was also more or less pieced together by hand, like the BMW M1. Subtle exterior design changes made the E28 M5 the ultimate wolf in sheep’s clothing. Those who knew, knew; everyone else would wonder. Even though U.S.-market cars got toned down a bit thanks to catalytic converters, the resulting 256 horsepower or so was still more than enough to make the E28 M5 an engaging drive.
Where the E28 BMW 5 Series is Today
BMW made somewhere around 750,000 examples of the E28 BMW 5 Series. So, uncommon the E28 is not. However, finding a good one — and one with a manual transmission — is tough 45 years later. While there’s novelty to the diesel model and the M5 is the best-performing of the bunch, the 535i and M535i models are arguably the most interesting for enthusiasts that don’t have a ton of money to drop on an M5. Plenty of performance extras cropped up on the range-topping E28 5 Series cars, including a limited-slip differential and M-Technic suspension bits.
In the U.S. a good E28 M5 commands $35,000 and prices climb quickly from there. It’s not unusual to see very nice cars eclipse $50,000 or more. Meanwhile, the absolute nicest 535i models cap out around $40,000 with some exceptions. Of course, you can still have a ton of fun with nearly any E28. The second generation of the BMW 5 Series may not be as ubiquitous as cars like the 02 Series or even its contemporary, the E30 3 Series. But its contributions to the M nameplate — and BMW’s diesel endeavors — are irrefutable.