This video is proof positive that meeting (owning) your heroes, like the 1987 Porsche 944 Turbo or 1987 E28 BMW 535i “M5” is a bad idea.
Roman is on a kick reliving his misspent youth and his acquisitions of 1987 Porsche 944 Turbo and 1987 E28 BMW 535i “M5” is proof. Both vehicles were aspirational for young professionals back in the day. At the time, Roman was about the same age his son Tommy is now. As such, he felt that the two of them could enjoy these legends together. Unfortunately, it’s a little more complicated that that.
That ain’t no M5!!
Roman and Tommy truly wanted an old M5, but they got about 80-percent of the way there. You see, this is a special version of the BMW 535i, which has all of the goodies the M5 had, except the engine. The limited slip diff, suspension, transmission, interior and badging are AOK, but not the engine. Yep, it has a 182 horsepower 3.0 I6, as opposed to the 256 hp unit found in a real M5. Oops.
Otherwise, the rest of the car is solid, and it spent a portion of its life in Japan!
The Porsche 944 Turbo is legit!
Now THIS is a proper 944. Roman was determined to get a turbo 944, especially considering that he had a non-turbo way back, and it’s still a regret. Powered by a turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder, this 944 makes 217 hp (or 220 – depending on who’s referenced )… when new.
The 944 spent its life in Canada, which Roman says is good, but I don’t know why.
In this video, Tommy and Roman to a lap, drag race and a 0 to 60 mph run with both cars. It’s staggering to see how slow these old-timers are compared to contemporary equivalents. Heck, there are plenty of economy cars that would give these German performance machines a run for their money.
Still, they are both pretty cool.
