To begin with, the idea of a BMW M5 with a 5-litre V10 engine seemed impossibly mouth-watering. True, V10s were very much in vogue at the time, and given that BMW was usually at the cutting edge of road car development, then as now, perhaps the combination of 10 cylinders and a 5 Series bodyshell was merely inevitable back in 2005.
Even so, when details of its existence entered my universe, I remember not being able to believe how exciting this seemed. And in reality, amid the hysteria that washes through you the first time you try any car you’ve been looking forward to driving for so long, I admit I may have got just a tiny bit carried away when I actually did.
It wasn’t at the media launch of the car, which was held as usual in southern Spain. Much to my dismay, I couldn’t go on that first driving event because my recently renewed passport had gone missing in the post, so a chap called Christopher-something stepped up instead. This meant I had to wait several long months before driving the ‘brilliant new BMW M5’ and it was in Wales, not Andalusia, where I got my first taste of it.
