BMW M5 (E34)

A used price of GBP 45,000 places the BMW M5 (E34) higher up the cost ladder than 465 of the 600 cars in this catalogue, yet each brake horsepower works out at GBP 134. That combination asks an awkward question. Why pay comparatively strong money for a car whose 335 bhp ranks only 475th here and whose 0 to 100 km/h time of 5.9 seconds is quicker than just 69 others? The answer is that this is one of those rare cases where the surrounding numbers matter more than the headline figures.

Only seven cars in the entire catalogue combine a naturally aspirated inline 6 with rear wheel drive. That single statistic changes the conversation completely. Plenty of cars can better 250 km/h, and many sit higher in the power rankings, yet very few arrive at their performance through this particular mechanical recipe. The 3.8 litre inline 6 delivers 400 Nm to the rear wheels without forced induction, creating a specification that is genuinely unusual in this collection rather than merely respectable within it.

Scarcity reinforces that argument. Production reached 12,254 cars, and only 172 of the 177 catalogued cars with recorded production totals are rarer. That is not extreme rarity, but it is meaningful context. Within a catalogue containing 48 BMW models and 197 German cars, this example avoids blending into the background because its combination of layout, aspiration and drivetrain is shared by so few alternatives. Even its body style contributes to that balance, seating four or five people while belonging to the super saloon category instead of asking for compromise elsewhere.

Judged purely by acceleration, power or top speed, the financial case looks difficult. Judged by what the catalogue actually contains, it becomes much stronger. The asking price buys a configuration that is exceptionally uncommon here, rather than simply another entry in a crowded performance field. That distinction is what the cost per bhp figure misses.

The opening question about value therefore has a clear answer. The price is not paying for dominance in the rankings. It is paying for one of only seven naturally aspirated inline 6, rear wheel drive cars available to choose from, wrapped in a four or five seat saloon from BMW. Read through that lens, GBP 134 per bhp no longer feels like a premium for modest numbers. It feels like the admission price for a combination that almost nothing else in this garage can offer.