I have a confession to make. Despite my deep love for the E28 M5, and the fact that I want one more than any other Roundel-badged vehicle, I didn’t know that Dinan made a turbo kit for it back in the day. The E28 M5 was always sacred, the first-ever M5. So I never even bothered to look into tuning kits for it, as it seemed perfect the way it was. But after seeing this new video from Tedward, I must admit that my eyes (and ears) have been opened.
Back in 1985, the original BMW M5 used a 3.5-liter straight-six engine. Its aspiration was only normal, but it needed noforced induction. That glorious I6 made 286 horsepower, which was a whopping 86 horses more than the Porsche 911 of the time. The four-door M5 had a higher top speed, too. OK, so it was 152 mph versus 149 mph, so only barely. But still, the M5 was a four-door luxury car and it was technically quicker than a two-door Porsche sports car. Madness for the era.
It wasn’t mad enough for Steve Dinan, though. He created a power kit that came with a turbocharger, the requisite turbo plumbing, upgraded fuel pumps, and more. The result was an absolutely monstrous 400 horsepower, which was more than the Ferrari Testerossa. And my god, it sounds spectacular even today.
Tedward/YouTube
In Tedward’s video, the turbocharged M5 engine jumps to life with a bassy rumble and quickly settles into a smooth idle. It sounds like an expensive, exciting engine from the jump. But once he opens those individual throttle bodies more, it starts to show off much more character. It revs beautifully and makes a whole symphany of noises as its tach needle climbs. Then, as it crests around 4,000 rpm, the turbo fully comes alive, and the sudden boost of revs and speed is wild to see. That sudden shove is followed by the most delicious of turbo whooshes, too, which feels kind of wrong in an old BMW, but that makes it even more appealing in a way.
When the E28 M5 was new, Dinan’s turbo kit cost $30,000. That was almost as much as the 1988 BMW M5 cost in the U.S. (the only model year it was sold here), which was $48,270 to start. Was it worth paying nearly double the price to have more power than a Testerossa? Probably, if I’m being honest.
