Development for the E34's successor began in 1993, and ended in 1995. The final design by Joji Nagashima was selected in June 1992 and later frozen for production under … See more

The E39 was one of the first vehicles (alongside the E38 7 Series) to have curtain airbags, which protect the occupants' heads in … See more

Manual transmissions
Six-cylinder petrol models and 535i were fitted with either the 5-speed Getrag 250G or ZF 320Z (S5-32) transmission, depending on the … See more

Compared with its E34 predecessor, the E39's wheelbase grew by 68 mm (2.7 in) and overall length by 55 mm (2.2 in). Torsional rigidity was increased over the E34 by 40 percent, … See more

• E39 sedan (Pre-facelift; front)
• Pre-facelift 540i Touring (UK)
• E39 sedan (Pre-facelift; rear)
• E39 sedan (facelift; South Korea)
• E39 Touring (facelift) See more

Petrol engines
At launch, the petrol engines consisted of the BMW M52 straight-6 engines and the BMW M62 V8 engines. In late 1998, the "technical update" … See more

Unusually, two different steering systems were used for the E39, depending on the engine. Models with four-cylinder and six-cylinder models use rack and pinion steering, the first time this system has been used in a 5 Series (except for the E34 525iX model). … See more