The E39 series is the fourth generation of BMW’s 5 series in the upper middle class.

The E39 series sedan was introduced in December 1995 as the successor to the E34 series. The station wagon, known as the Touring, followed in March 1997, the M5 sports model in autumn 1998. A total of more than 1.48 million units of the E39 were sold, including around 266,000 Touring. The sedan was produced until mid-2003, the Touring rolled off the assembly line until early 2004. The body versions of the E39 were successively replaced by the E60 / E61 series.

The BMW test engineers covered a total of 30 million test kilometers with the E39 during its development. The test drives took place between Alaska, South Africa and the North Cape. Temperatures ranged from −40 ° C in Alaska to 50 ° C in California’s Death Valley. The test vehicles completed journeys on pothole slopes or with trailers on mountain roads. They also covered 8,000 test kilometers on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. In 1993 the first photos of camouflaged test vehicles (“Erlkönigen”) appeared in the press. In May 1995 BMW published the first official photos of the E39. The 5 Series E39 had its world premiere in September 1995 at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt. In December 1995 sales started on the European mainland. It was launched in Great Britain and overseas markets by mid-1996. The E39 is powered by six- and eight-cylinder petrol engines and four- and six-cylinder diesel engines. Their output ranges from 85 kW (115 hp) in the 525td to 294 kW (400 hp) in the M5. In all models, power is transmitted to the rear axle. According to BMW, the E39 was the first mass-produced vehicle in the world with a chassis made almost entirely of aluminum. The 5 Series was produced at BMW’s Dingolfing plant.

The models 523i and 528i were available from the market launch in December 1995, followed by the 525tds and 520i by March 1996. The 520i, 523i and 528i are equipped with the in-line six-cylinder M52 gasoline engine with four-valve technology. The 525tds has the in-line six-cylinder swirl chamber diesel engine M51 with two-valve technology, which was also the only two-valve engine in the E39 series. In the course of the first half of 1996, BMW introduced the 535i (only available as a sedan) and 540i with the M62 V8 petrol engine with four-valve technology. In all gasoline engines, the crankcase and cylinder head are made of light alloy. According to BMW, the use of aluminum has resulted in a weight advantage of more than 30 kg in the six-cylinder engines. The eight-cylinder models can be distinguished from the four- and six-cylinder models with the help of the BMW kidney grille – Differentiate models: BMW used chrome-plated vertical struts for all eight-cylinder models, while all four- and six-cylinder models (except Highline) rolled off the production line with black struts.