When you think of cars fit for royalty, what comes to mind? Perhaps the Mercedes 600, or pretty much any Rolls-Royce. Well, if you’re Swedish, royal cars happen to be a little bit more fun than in other countries. Ordered in gorgeous Malachite Green (a color still part of BMW’s Individual extended palette) over black leather, this M5 being auctioned on Bring A Trailer was destined for a special first owner — Carl XVI Gustaf, the King of Sweden.
In addition to being the honorary president of the World Scout Foundation, His Majesty is a certified car nut, with an eclectic collection containing everything from a Porsche 911 GT3 to a 1966 Pontiac GTO that, according to Swedish newspaper Expressen, once failed inspection so thoroughly that the King was threatened with a driving ban. Hey, we’ve all been there.
Carl XVI Gustaf also seems to be a fan of fast BMWs, taking delivery of an M8 in 2020, the latest in a long line of fast BMWs including this one here. Man, what a spec this is. I’m an absolute sucker for green cars with gold wheels, so this exterior color combo ticks the right boxes. One box not ticked by His Majesty was the one for the sunroof, as this M5 is a slicktop car. All the better for structural rigidity.
On the inside, the black buffalo leather has aged well with minimal bolster wear, and the carpets are immaculate. Even the dashboard’s in great shape, a common sore spot for BMWs of the era. Oh, and pretty much everything you can imagine is trimmed in leather, from the dashboard to the steering column. It seems like the King may like his tunes too, as this M5 comes with a trick period-correct Blaupunkt system including some wild-looking parcel shelf component speakers. Mind you, the Blaupunkt isn’t the only radio in this Autobahn-scorching legend — hidden inside the glovebox sits a handy VHF scanner.
It’s a pleasure to see that the King’s M5 has been both well-loved and well-driven over the years, boasting 252,000 kilometers on the clock and a fairly clean underbody. Sure, there’s some light surface rust in places, but the majority of the floorpan area looks tidy. Not bad for a car from a northern climate, and I’m sure any owner seriously interested in getting everything perfect could make quick work of the brown bits with a wire wheel, some phosphoric acid, and a good encapsulating primer or two-part epoxy primer.
This E28 M5 is a real DC91 European model as evidenced by the VIN, but it was allegedly special-ordered with the more smog-friendly S38B35 engine that also came in American cars. As such, it shouldn’t have any trouble being legal in even the most emissions-restrictive of American jurisdictions, although it will have to go through the BAR process in California. Speaking of American jurisdictions, this particular M5 should be easy to register because it’s already in America. Riverside, Calif. to be precise.
With a high bid of $41,000 and six days left on the auction, this very special E28 BMW M5 certainly won’t go cheap, but this is a real test of how much value history adds to a car. Of course, the prettiness of the Euro bumpers certainly helps too. Still, even if this thing cracks the $50,000 barrier, how cool would it be to drive around in the King of Sweden’s M5?
(Photo credits: Bring A Trailer)
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Here’s his cool (apparently broken) Cadillac limo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1GPArP6wFQ
I’m very fond of the clean, simple design on BMWs of this generation and that metallic-green-is-so-dark-it-looks-black-at-first-glance is great. The period BBS basketweave wheels are good too, though me personally (unroyal as I am) would’ve preferred silver, rather than gold centers.
Even though it’s close to me, I’m neither in the market for, or tax bracket to, want/try to own this car, which is a relief for a change. 🙂
Lovely car, though I don’t care about the provenance, someone’s gonna get a very nice Bimmer, even if they wind up paying more than $50K for it, which seems very likely.
Hmmm… I’m not generally fond of BMWs but this one is intriguing to me. Maybe it’s because most of my ancestry is Swedish… And I have similar appetite for sporting cars with tasteful high-end audio plus extra radio bits. And I’ve had a similar bad inspection experience. Am I somehow cosmically connected to His Highness or is there just some odd thread in the universe connecting nonconformist motoring Swedes?
This will require more than the princely sum I have to offer
I bought a 318ti from a guy who worked at Burger King, is that the same ?
Absolutely! 🙂
I wonder if this is the Bimmer he was in when he honked at me in 2007. Probably not. Still, cool.
Yeah it’s OK, but it’s no Swedish Bikini Team.
Even the King of Sweden needed an Emotional Support BMW. Please talk to your partners about what an Emotional Support BMW can do for you. Then buy this and let me burrow it. It’s incredible.
What can ESBMW do for you? Empty your wallet. Just ask a guy named Bob.
To be fair I don’t think he has sold the v12, it’s doing something for him. Like medical care in America, it’s expensive and periodically doesn’t do anything. Every friendship has its troubles, but a ESBMW will be there for you leaking coolant and/or oil depending on year on your driveway.
Sadly, he told me in the comments of an article that he sold the 850. Long live Bob’s 850!
Gone, but not forgotten! May the new owner find BMW nirvana.
HERESY! TREASON!
The Saab 900CD existed for a reason!
I wonder how many Saabs and Volvos he also bought over the years. Perhaps he was trying to remain neutral.
BTW – leather trimming the dash on these is a great idea. When a friend restored his he did that to hide a crack and it worked really well. It was a little incongruous with the cloth seats, though…
He has a few of both, including 1 of only about 50 surviving Volvo PV60s, and a custom 1976 Saab stretch limo
Damn! It’s almost perfect.
Just needs these.
https://x-sticker.com/bmw-wheel-cap-emblems-black-yellow-blue-logo
Missed opportunity your Majesty.
This chariot is from an age when a dark green car meant the driver was on his way to a boardroom somewhere, possibly stopping off for a martini lunch.
ik
Also wik
Also also wik
Wi not trei a holiday in Sweeden this yer ?
See the loveli lakes
The wonderful telephone system
And mani interesting furry animals
Including the majestic moose
A moose once bit my sister…
No realli! She was Karving her initials on the moose with the sharpened end of an interspace toothbrush given her by Svenge—her brother-in-law— an Oslo dentist and star of many Norwegian movies: “The Hot Hands of an Oslo Dentist”, “Fillings of Passion”, “The Huge Molars of Horst Nordfink”…
Mynd you, moose bites Kan be pretti nasti…
Ni!
Now go away, or I shall taunt you a second time!!
We apologize for the fault in the comments. Those responsible have been sacked.
I didn’t even know that Sweden had a king. Interesting that in his official portrait he’s just wearing a suit (a very fancy suit, though) with a few too many pieces of flair — unlike his peer in England who looks like he’s auditioning to be on playing cards.
Username checks out 🙂
That’s not Carl XVI Gustaf, that’s Dr. Huer from Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.
https://www.hobbydb.com/marketplaces/hobbydb/subjects/dr-elias-huer-character
My fave was Dr. Theopolis, the talking LED clock.
I’ll never understand why they couldn’t just put Theopolis’ ‘brain’ into Twiki’s body. Were the humans worried about him becoming a robot overlord? Twiki wasn’t that powerful. If I recall, there was at least one time Buck just picked him up and carried him away.
That’s a Swedish Navy dress uniform
“I didn’t even know that Sweden had a king”
You thought Sweden was an autonomous collective?
In 1979, while on a state visit to Germany, he made sure to add the Weissach development center.
https://www.no-speedlimit.it/Porsche_Werkfoto_1979_DE_Carl-Gustaf.html
This is so close to “the perfect car”. Too bad they don’t build them like this anymore.
https://www.cadillac.com/sedans/ct5-v-blackwing
Nope
Suit yourself I guess
She had a dream about the king of Sweden
He gave her things, that she was needin’
He gave her a home built of gold and steel
A
diamondmalachite car, with theplatinumshiny gold wheelsHi di Hi di Hi di Ho.
And a Hee dee hee dee hee to you, sir.
Ho dee ho dee ho dee ho dee ho dee ho dee ho
Scoodley woo scoodley woo scoodley woodley woodley woo
Username, you’ve deciphered a code more complex than Enigma and more obscure than the Navajo in WWI.
An even greater challenge is deciphering the line after the scoodley woo. 🙂
I am ever so glad that I am not the only Wodehouse fan here. My brother’s fiancée once dressed as Honoria Glossop for Halloween… zero out of 1,000 people had even the faintest idea.
My wife named her new Golden Retriever puppy “Bernard Wilberforce Woofster”.
Scrolled to ensure there was some Minnie the Moocher reference in here. Good job.
I was going to lose my mind if someone hadn’t done this.