This M5 With M3 And M4 Body Parts Is A Hybrid We're Not Ready For

Fans of any given car brand come in all shapes and sizes, with all sorts of tastes. We’re having just a little trouble with this one, but maybe you guys will think otherwise.

What you’re looking at is said on its eBay advert to be an E39 M5, powered by a 394bhp 4.9-litre V8 that revs to 7000rpm. Strangely it’s on a P-plate, though, whose 12-month time frame straddled 1996 and 1997. The E39 M5 was launched in 1998.

Something odd is going on, but this could easily be an ordinary E39 5 Series (which was sold from 1995) that has been fitted with an M5 engine. Extensive history checks required.

The real reason we’re having a tough time with it is that this E39 has had surgery. Look closely and you’ll see the front bumper and flared front wings from the current-generation M4, while the rear bumper has been transplanted for one from an E92 M3. The owner has kept it brand-focused, at least.

It’s a strange hybrid of models and generations, and while it doesn’t look terrible, we’re not sure the M4’s flared arches look right over the E39’s smaller wheels. The front hoops just seem a bit lost in there. We’re also not sure whether spacers have been used to push the fronts outwards further than the rears. It’s tough to tell from the pictures but we suspect they have.

There’s questionable fit around the headlights and bumper, too, missing trim on the left wing and a general dearth of quality photographs. The description is frustratingly light on detail, too, leaving us guessing at the quality of and reasons behind the conversion.

One final note to make is that the car is pictured outside an ‘accident repair and paintwork’ centre. It could simply be the owner’s car, or it could have been a crash-damaged project for a customer. But this is one M5 that’s shrouded in a little too much uncertainty for our liking…