--- title: "This E39 BMW M5 Hides a Long-Lost Volkswagen W10 Engine" date: "2025-03-31" modified: "2025-03-31" authors: - name: "Ronan Glon" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/ronan-glon" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/this-e39-bmw-m5-hides-a-long-lost-volkswagen-w10-engine" categories: - "News" - "News by Brand" - "Volkswagen News" tags: - "BMW" - "Volkswagen" --- # This E39 BMW M5 Hides a Long-Lost Volkswagen W10 Engine ![W10-powered BMW M5]() *\Drive Tribe\* In 2023, we published [a story]() about what many believed to be the last remaining W10 engine built by Volkswagen in the early 2000s. It was in the hands of a German VW mechanic who was told that the other two engines made were destroyed. Fast-forward to 2025, and we finally know where to find them. Both are part of a private collection, and one is stuffed in [an E39-generation BMW M5]()-based test mule. The W10 project was the brainchild of [Ferdinand Piëch](), who was the chairman of the Volkswagen Group until 2015. [The W range of engines](), which included the W8 that ended up in the Passat 4Motion, [the W12]() found in several Volkswagen, Audi, and Bentley models, and the W16 that powered [the Bugatti Veyron](), was developed under his watch. Two additional W engines were developed but never mass-produced: The W10, which was reportedly envisioned for a sport sedan, and the W18, which the Veyron was supposed to use until engineers chose a W16. Official details about the W10-powered sport sedan are lost to history, but a recent *Drive Tribe* video claims there was nothing like it in the Volkswagen Group's portfolio. This complicated the task of putting the engine through its paces in real-world conditions, so Volkswagen purchased an E39-gen M5 to use as a test mule. Piëch's team chose the M5 for several reasons. One is that there was enough space in the engine bay to mount the W10, which was a lot more compact than a V10 due to its W layout. Another is that the M5 was developed to offer excellent handling, so there was no need to make major changes to the chassis. And, the subtle styling certainly helped; To the untrained eye, the E39-generation M5 looks pretty much like a run-of-the-mill 5 Series sedan. The six-speed stick was another determining factor. Volkswagen reportedly spent about €2 million building the one-off, W10-powered M5, and one look under the hood tells you exactly where the money went. This is a dauntingly experimental build, yet the workmanship is immaculate. There are no loose or hanging wires, no random parts cobbled together with tape, and nothing that looks unfinished. Volkswagen even built a carbon fiber airbox for the engine. It's still a prototype, however. It's not fitted with any kind of driving aids as VW even left out ABS and traction control. The instrument cluster looks like it's from a race car, there are several auxiliary gauges on the center stack, and engineers rigged up a standalone ECU to run the drivetrain. Fuel and exhaust fumes permeate the cabin, but that didn't stop Piëch from reportedly driving the M5 daily for a while. He probably had a blast! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYiLXU4mZR4 Linked to a six-speed manual, the W10 makes 480 horsepower and 436 lb-ft of torque at the wheels. For context, a stock E39-gen M5 uses a 4.9-liter V8 that produces 394 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque at the crank. Sure, the W10 is likely heavier, but that's still a nice bump in power. It sounds amazing, too. It's too bad that this engine never saw the light that awaits at the end of a production line. The one-of-a-kind, W10-powered M5 is for sale, and it costs approximately as much as a new [Ferrari Purosangue](), according to *Drive Tribe*. We're guessing it'll take about $500,000 to add it to your collection. Is it worth it? It depends on your perspective, and there's no right or wrong answer, but we'd argue that half a million dollars doesn't sound entirely unreasonable given the prototype's rarity and coolness. Now, we're curious: Are there other W10s out there? And what happened to the one we wrote about in 2023? *Got tips? Send ’em to tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Ronan is a contributing writer for The Drive. He draws on over 15 years of experience to cover breaking industry news, cool one-off builds, and anything in between. He began writing for The Drive in 2021 and stepped into his current role in 2024. His obsession with cars started when a relative gave him a Majorette die-cast shortly after his first birthday. It hasn't flickered since. Ronan lives in France; He swapped Utah's Rocky Mountains, where he grew up, for the Alps. He's an avid hiker, mountain biker, and musician. He also restores classic European cars and mopeds, including a 1978 Citroen 2CV that he's rebuilding from the ground up. ### Author social links [Twitter]()