We gather three of the loudest sedans on Karup Airport's old runway and step on the gas!
NB : Back in 2014 Bil Magasinet's Steen Bachmann and Soren Juul collected three wonderful used sedans. It deserves a revisit. V8s on a reasonable budget What can you get from a V8 sedan on a decent budget? You can get a lot! If you're lucky, you can find a Mercedes E55 AMG that hasn't rusted away, and if you can afford it, you can buy one of our all-time favorites: the BMW M5 in the classic E39 model with a non-supercharged V8 engine. The third feature is the noble and understated gentleman's express Jaguar S-type R with Jaguar's own supercharged 4.2-litre V8 engine. We go to Karup and have a wonderful reunion with the three men's carriages… 
BMW M5 E39 The magnificent BMW M5 was first shown at the annual Geneva Motor Show in 1998 and 20,482 examples were built until 2003. It is considered by many BMW fans as the most genuine M5, because it is versatile, fast and without too many electronics. There's a steering wheel and gear stick, three pedals and a hellishly efficient engine, and that's it. To keep the price down, the M5 E39 was built on the same assembly line as the regular 5 Series, unlike its predecessor, which was hand-built at BMW M GmbH. Here there is a 2.3 cm lower ground clearance, shock absorbers with shorter travel and stronger anti-roll bars. But overall, the parts are the same as for a regular 5 Series, so the M5 is only slightly more expensive to keep running. All parts are available from day to day, and compared to the successor with the complicated and error-plagued sequential SMG gearbox, the M5 E39 is cheap to maintain. 
With double Vanos The engine is a 4.9-liter V8 with double VANOS: A system that allows variable valve control on both intake and exhaust valves. Each cylinder also has its own throttle, which together provides an instant throttle response and great agility. The engine produces 400 hp at 6,600 rpm and uses oil – don't worry, it has to do that. We borrow the blue test car from BMW specialist and fan Torben Slot Lauridsen from Haderup Autoservice near Karup. Torben has several nice things in the garage, and even if he wants us out for a spin in an M5 E39 with extremely low mileage, we'll take the Le Mans blue one in the photos. It has a short 188,000 km and is for sale wholesale for DKK 225,000, as it says here (it requires a CVR number). If you can't fix small things yourself such as a worn rear wheel bearing and some surface rust on the fuel cap, Torben offers to deliver it fixed, prepared, inspected and in top shape on plates for DKK 300,000 including four original rims. 
Blue Bimmer idling The blue BMW just needs a liter of Torben's best oil and a little starting aid, and then it is allowed to warm up at idle, until the engine and gear oil reaches working temperature. I take a little trip around the Karup area to get the car under my skin again – it doesn't take long to be overtaken by an M5. In Sport mode, the steering is extra heavy and responsive and tells you everything about what's going on out front. The steering is sharp as in an M3, and in Normal mode the comfort is surprisingly good. Chop it up in sixth gear and it hums like any other sports suspension 5 Series from its era. Keen throttle response The engine is warm and the car is starting to liven up, so it's time to hit the Sport button. You only get access to the 400 hp in Sport, where the ESC system also allows the car to wiggle its tail a little. And why does it move. 
The rev limiter first kicks in at 7,000 rpm, where the engine sounds like a racer, and in intermediate accelerations you can enjoy the furious throttle response. An 18-20 year old BMW M5 is the cheapest way for us on ordinary incomes to get supercar performance. BMW M5, 2001 Engine V8, 4,939 cm3, 32V Output 400 hp/500 Nm 0-100 km/h 5.4 sec. Top speed 250 km/h Weight 1,700 kg New price DKK 1,585,000 Price today from DKK 300,000 Click 'NEXT PAGE' to read further
BMW M5 E39 The magnificent BMW M5 was first shown at the annual Geneva Motor Show in 1998 and 20,482 examples were built until 2003. It is considered by many BMW fans as the most genuine M5, because it is versatile, fast and without too many electronics. There's a steering wheel and gear stick, three pedals and a hellishly efficient engine, and that's it. To keep the price down, the M5 E39 was built on the same assembly line as the regular 5 Series, unlike its predecessor, which was hand-built at BMW M GmbH. Here there is a 2.3 cm lower ground clearance, shock absorbers with shorter travel and stronger anti-roll bars. But overall, the parts are the same as for a regular 5 Series, so the M5 is only slightly more expensive to keep running. All parts are available from day to day, and compared to the successor with the complicated and error-plagued sequential SMG gearbox, the M5 E39 is cheap to maintain. With double Vanos The engine is a 4.9-liter V8 with double VANOS: A system that allows variable valve control on both intake and exhaust valves. Each cylinder also has its own throttle, which together provides an instant throttle response and great agility. The engine produces 400 hp at 6,600 rpm and uses oil – don't worry, it has to do that. We borrow the blue test car from BMW specialist and fan Torben Slot Lauridsen from Haderup Autoservice near Karup. Torben has several nice things in the garage, and even if he wants us out for a spin in an M5 E39 with extremely low mileage, we'll take the Le Mans blue one in the photos. It has a short 188,000 km and is for sale wholesale for DKK 225,000, as it says here (it requires a CVR number). If you can't fix small things yourself such as a worn rear wheel bearing and some surface rust on the fuel cap, Torben offers to deliver it fixed, prepared, inspected and in top shape on plates for DKK 300,000 including four original rims. Blue Bimmer idling The blue BMW just needs a liter of Torben's best oil and a little starting aid, and then it is allowed to warm up at idle, until the engine and gear oil reaches working temperature. I take a little trip around the Karup area to get the car under my skin again – it doesn't take long to be overtaken by an M5. In Sport mode, the steering is extra heavy and responsive and tells you everything about what's going on out front. The steering is sharp as in an M3, and in Normal mode the comfort is surprisingly good. Chop it up in sixth gear and it hums like any other sports suspension 5 Series from its era. Keen throttle response The engine is warm and the car is starting to liven up, so it's time to hit the Sport button. You only get access to the 400 hp in Sport, where the ESC system also allows the car to wiggle its tail a little. And why does it move. The rev limiter first kicks in at 7,000 rpm, where the engine sounds like a racer, and in intermediate accelerations you can enjoy the furious throttle response. An 18-20 year old BMW M5 is the cheapest way for us on ordinary incomes to get supercar performance. BMW M5, 2001 Engine V8, 4,939 cm3, 32V Output 400 hp/500 Nm 0-100 km/h 5.4 sec. Top speed 250 km/h Weight 1,700 kg New price DKK 1,585,000 Price today from DKK 300,000 Click 'NEXT PAGE' to read further
