BMW S62 Engine Specs

The E39 M5 that arrived in 1998 is routinely listed among the greatest performance saloons ever built, and the engine responsible for making that car what it was deserves the same recognition. The BMW S62 is a 4.9-liter naturally aspirated V8 produced by BMW M GmbH from 1998 to 2003, and it stands as the only naturally aspirated V8 BMW M has ever fitted to a road-going M5. Displacing 4,941 cc and producing 400 hp (294 kW) without a single gram of forced induction, the S62 represented a very particular kind of engineering philosophy - one that trusted displacement, mechanical precision, and driver engagement over the brute efficiency of a turbocharger.

The S62 was derived from the normally aspirated M62 V8 found in BMW's regular 5 and 7 Series saloons, but the engineering work BMW M carried out on it was substantial enough to produce an engine that shares little more than its basic architecture with the donor unit. The bore was stretched to 93.0 mm, the compression ratio raised to a high-for-a-V8 11.0:1, and the camshafts were replaced with more aggressive profiles. Titanium intake valves - an exotic material choice for a road car of that era - reduced reciprocating mass in the valvetrain and helped the engine rev with a willingness that V8s of this displacement rarely demonstrate. The addition of Double VANOS continuously variable camshaft timing on both the intake and exhaust camshafts of each cylinder bank completed the transformation from touring engine to M engine.

The S62 uses an aluminum alloy cylinder block fitted with cast iron cylinder sleeves, topped by aluminum alloy cylinder heads. Each bank carries a DOHC valvetrain with 16 valves - four per cylinder - for a total of 32 valves across the V8. No hydraulic lifters are fitted, meaning valve clearances require periodic manual adjustment. The engine is fuelled by an electronic sequential injection system, with each cylinder receiving an individually timed injection event. Two separate timing chains drive the four camshafts, with inspections recommended every 150,000 km. The firing order is 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2.

With a bore and stroke of 93.0 mm x 91.0 mm total displacement comes to 4,941 cc. Power peaks at 400 hp (294 kW) at 6,600 rpm, with 500 Nm of torque arriving at 3,800 rpm - figures that give the E39 M5 a 0-100 km/h time of 4.8 seconds, a number that shocked saloon car buyers in 1998. The compression ratio of 11.0:1 requires a minimum of 95 RON fuel, though 98 RON is preferred. The engine weighs 208 kg. Oil capacity is 7.5 liters and BMW specifies 0W-30 meeting BMW LL-01 standards. Operating temperature sits between 80 and 90 degrees Celsius, and with proper maintenance the S62 is rated for 250,000+ km.

The S62 was fitted exclusively to two vehicles: the BMW E39 M5 (1998-2003) and the BMW E38 750i/760i. In the M5 it defines the entire character of the car - where modern M engines build boost and surge forward, the S62 simply pulls, linearly and without interruption, from low revs all the way to its 7,000 rpm ceiling. The sound it makes doing so is unlike any other road car engine of its era: a deep, authoritative V8 rumble at low load that sharpens into an aggressive, layered roar as the rpm climbs. No intake resonance, no turbo whistle, no artificial enhancement - just four litres and nine hundred cubic centimetres of displacement doing exactly what they are there to do.

The S62 appears in BMW M documentation and parts catalogs under the designations S62B50, S62B50A, and S62B50B, reflecting minor calibration differences across model years and markets. Its reputation has only grown since production ended. Two decades on from its introduction, the S62-equipped E39 M5 continues to anchor countless lists of the best driver's cars ever made, and the engine itself is cited regularly as evidence of what naturally aspirated V8 engineering can achieve when performance rather than efficiency targets set the brief.