Werewolves of maximum power

Wolves in sheep’s clothing? Well, I do not. Does a regular BMW E34 look like a sheep? And can the elegant appearance of the “one hundred twenty-four” Mercedes be called skin? Even in the basic versions, these cars did not pretend to be herbivores, but, on the contrary, demonstrated that they were born wolves. Wolves of Wall Street. This kind of sheep’s wool is worn only when an elegant Italian suit is made from it. Sleek, fit and self-satisfied hunters for the good life. And in the M5 and 500 E versions – real werewolves. White collar workers who turn into monsters as soon as they leave the corporate parking lot.

Llight drizzle on the windshield. The last hour of the last morning of the November thaw. After lunch there will be rain, tomorrow – minus, snow and winter. But I just need to delay this fall for about six seconds. Ahead is a straight dynamometer road at the Dmitrovsky proving ground. There is a disappearing patch of dry asphalt under the rear wheels. In the right palm is a lever with a luminous tricolor. We’ve finally met, uh-five, and now I need all your dark magic…

How many times have I heard that the E39 is “not that” and that the real, not yet domesticated “five” remained there, in the first half of the 90s, along with that “Emka” that never wore collars. But I myself could not manage to cross paths with an authentic healthy E34, at least in its usual version. Or rather, this is how my colleague Melnikov did it for me, when three years ago he brought together the BMW 535i and Mercedes-Benz 300 E. Well, since then I myself have set out to close the main issue of this confrontation. After all, the BMW M5 of that generation never participated in Autoreview tests. And in exactly the same way its main antagonist, the Mercedes-Benz 500 E, missed us.

But here they both slowly drive up to the barrier of the test site, illuminating the parking lot of the certified “Chinese” with the warm halogen light of the golden era of automobile manufacturing. Is this article posted in the “retrotest” section? Don’t believe it. The BMW digital display shows only 26,900 km of total mileage, and the Mercedes odometer drums show the combination 88550. Werewolves don’t age?

In fact, only BMW’s mileage can be considered reliable, while Mercedes has at least three times as many kilometers behind it. The 500 E debuted in 1990, and our example was released in April 1992 and met its first buyer in Hamburg. The car arrived in Russia five years later and has since undergone many trials, but this summer it was completely restored and returned to its original appearance and pristine condition.

BMW is a year younger, although the M5 E34 model itself has been produced since 1988. But immediately after the release of the five-liter Mercedes, the Emke was modernized, and in 1992 the equipment was expanded. Therefore, our sedan, assembled in September 1993, is a corrected and expanded version of the M5, which differs from the original Emka by a more powerful S38B38 engine and the Nürburgring Pack, which includes adaptive electronically controlled shock absorbers, wider rear wheels and power steering with Servotronic function .