>>28687928
This thread already established that was due to packaging issues. However, the M62, of which the S62 is based on, was offered with an automatic.
With that in mind, why did BMW never build an automatic M5? There was no physical restriction.
>>28687933
>>28687944
>>28687946
Why would we care what some VW-owning stancefag says? We'd take you more seriously if you established these opinions as your own, rather than fellating some literal-who car '''journalist'''' who's opinion is worth less than Scotty Kilmer's.
If you're not buying a manual E39, than a W210 Mercedes E-Class blows it out of the water in every single possible metric anyway, aside from aesthetics (double bones, reliable V8s with a steering rack, diesels that can be boosted to the moon, window regulators that don't break, cooling systems that don't break etc). Just avoid the earliest ones from the '90s that used water-based paint.
Every single opinion this fuck is giving is just another reason to buy a W210 or W211 over an E39. And I say that as having actually owned all three.