BMW has an underground lair somewhere in Munich filled with stunning prototypes that never grew up to be production cars. It isn’t alone, as there are several car companies with similar lairs. But BMW’s is as special as it is infuriating, because it’s packed to the brim with cars that would have been sensational, potentially game-changing vehicles. One such car is the E34 BMW M5 Convertible, a prototype that could have been one of the most exciting convertibles on sale and, had it been made, we’d potentially still have roofless M5s today.
The E34 M5 Convertible’s existence hasn’t been a secret. BMW M has a whole page dedicated to it on its website. However, BMWBlog recently brought some new information to light about the lone drop-top M5. Apparently, the purple convertible was actually a production-ready car and BMW not only had it booked for a Geneva Motor Show reveal, but it even had a price ready—£50,000. One week before Geneva, BMW killed it. But why?
BMW executives were allegedly scared that the M5 Convertible would eat up E36 3 Series Convertible sales. That seems like a weak excuse to get cold feet, as the M5 Convertible would have been BMW’s flagship M car, more expensive than the E36 M3 Convertible, and it would have a completely different flavor. The E34 M5 was comfortable, luxurious, and filled with soft leather. No matter how great the E36 M3 was to drive, the interior was never the fold standard (I don’t miss my 328i’s interior). I doubt many customers would cross shop the two, especially lesser 3 Series Convertible models. But the topless 3 Series was a highly profitable car for BMW, so it didn’t want to risk hurting its cash cow. Lame.
Source: BMW
What a thing the E34 M5 Convertible would have been, though. Since it was designed with the pre-facelift M5’s earlier engine, its 3.5-liter inline-six made 315 horsepower and was paired to a five-speed manual, which powered only the rear wheels. It looked great, too, as I think the E34’s design language really suited a convertible body style. And just look at those seats, with the M-colored horizontal stripes and those amazing floating headrests. It even had a hydraulically operated folding soft-top, which is incredibly cool but I’m glad I’ll never have to know what it costs to fix.
Unfortunately, BMW’s hesitance allowed Mercedes to dominate that segment. The W124-generation Mercedes E-Class, with its elegant Bruno Sacco design, offered an ironically named E36 AMG. With its 3.6-liter inline-six, the best the Mercedes could muster was 272 horsepower, considerably less than BMW M’s offering. Would the E34 M5 Convertible been any better? We’ll never know because no one had the courage to find out. Instead, the E34 M5 Convertible joins a long history of awesome BMWs that never were.
