Nowadays, no self-respecting supersaloon leaves the manufacturing gates without being able to run from 0 to 60 in three points or whatever. Uncorked, most people won't cause much trouble for a supercar from the 1990s. In addition, they often squeak in at about two tons, require all-wheel drive to prevent turning into a dense, noxious cloud if the driver sneezes, and shift a staggering number of gears with minimal human input. True pleasures are rare if you're not to neglect your safety or freedom; drift modes and valved exhausts are more diversions than necessities.

It won't be these late-model M5s and E63s that drivers resort to in order to relive the heyday of the supersaloon when Teslas and Taycans inevitably provide greater speed and capability than any combustion rival. But whether it's from the late 1990s or the early 2000s, these customers will unavoidably turn to the final remaining supersaloon: the E39 BMW M5.

When the E39 was introduced in 1998, it represented a pretty major upgrade to BMW's tried-and-true M5 formula, which had been started with the E28 in 1984 and had been carried on with great success by the E34's introduction in 1988. The concept was the same for the E39—a powerful athlete wearing a well-tailored suit—but six in-line cylinders were replaced with the brand-new S62 all-aluminum V8. With Double VANOS, which changed the timing of both the intake and exhaust camshafts, it was M's first V8 and BMW's first as well. Like its six-pot forebears, it utilised a throttle body for each cylinder to accurately meter fuel and air.