What: 2000 BMW M5 Volkswagen W10 Prototype
Color: Carbon Black Metallic
Interior: Black Leather
VIN: WBSDE91040GJ16436
Mileage: unknown
Price Estimate: €250.000 – €350.000
Location: Broad Arrow Zoute Concours Auction, Knokke-Heist, Belgium
Listing: Link
A black BMW M5 with a black leather interior would rarely warrant a Tailored Driver Market Find on specification alone. Carbon Black Metallic is handsome, but this is about as understated—and visually unremarkable—as an E39 M5 gets. What earns this car its place here is a far more consequential form of individualization: a prototype Volkswagen W10 installed at Ferdinand Piëch’s direction. Reportedly used as his personal transportation during development, the BMW heads to Broad Arrow’s Zoute Concours Auction on October 9.
Ordinary Appearance, Extraordinary Specification
There is no unusual leather color, elaborate trim treatment or distinctive paint commission to announce what makes this M5 special. Its familiar black-over-black combination could easily disappear into a gathering of contemporary BMWs. That anonymity is part of the appeal once the hood is opened.
The factory 400 PS S62 V8 was replaced by an all-aluminum, naturally aspirated 5.0-liter Volkswagen W10 producing 480 PS and 592 Nm. A six-speed manual transmission completes a combination never offered by either manufacturer. The result is a deeply individualized car whose most significant alteration remains concealed beneath conventional bodywork.
Broad Arrow describes the engine as an experimental extension of Volkswagen’s narrow-angle VR engine family and a precursor to the W-engine concept later taken to its extreme in the Bugatti Veyron. The W10 reportedly explored the potential for a high-performance sedan powertrain, with the M5 providing an existing platform for development. The catalog records the donor car’s build date as March 2, 1999, although it is offered as a 2000 model.
Built at Piëch’s Direction
The car’s provenance is central to its significance. Broad Arrow cites Sabine Willeke, who led the engineering team behind the project, as confirming that the M5 served as Piëch’s personal transportation during its secret development. According to the consignor, the project operated outside Volkswagen’s R&D department, undertaken at Piëch’s instruction and funded by Volkswagen Group at a reported cost approaching €2 million.
The conversion appears deliberately integrated, with custom intake ducting, ignition hardware and a coolant expansion tank fitted into the BMW’s engine bay. Inside, the black leather cabin remains largely familiar, though a Stack instrument display replaces the factory cluster and additional gauges occupy the center console. These changes suggest a working development vehicle rather than a decorative commission. Because the replacement display provides no odometer reading, total mileage cannot be confirmed.
Its prototype status also carries through to the controls. Broad Arrow states that traction control, stability control and ABS were deactivated, while a stand-alone ECU manages the W10. Those details make it a distinct proposition for a collector interested in driving the car, beyond its significance as an engineering artifact.
Two of Three Engines
According to Willeke’s account in the auction catalog, only three W10 engines were built. One remains in Germany, one powers this M5 and the third accompanies the sale on a display stand, along with a design sketch. Broad Arrow identifies the BMW as the only road-going car ever fitted with the engine, making the additional unit an unusually substantial companion piece.
The current owner reportedly acquired the car roughly a decade ago through engineering connections and subsequently registered it in Slovakia. He has continued to drive it, and Broad Arrow lists its most recent service as taking place in 2025, with maintenance drawing on standard Volkswagen catalog components. The car comes with a Slovak registration certificate, though the catalog notes that it lacks a certificate of conformity.
At an estimate of €250,000–€350,000, this M5’s appeal rests almost entirely on what its appearance fails to communicate. Black over black would ordinarily give us little reason to feature it. A one-off W10 conversion associated with Ferdinand Piëch makes that otherwise forgettable specification the quiet wrapping around an extraordinary car.
