BMW’s Heritage collection sets about restoring a 530 MLE

By Martin Pretorius

It’s a lesser-known fact that, for many years, Plant Rosslyn was the only BMW assembly facility outside of Germany. During those years, the local wizards created some true icons – cars which served very specific purposes, and without equivalents anywhere else in the world. 

Over the past few years, BMW SA has been hunting down examples of such local legends for restoration, with the aim of giving them recognition in the local factory’s heritage collection. But their latest project is possibly the most significant one of them all: the car which arguably led to the creation of BMW M. We were there to set this very special car on the journey back towards its original glory.

 

It all began with the need for speed

BMW’s first serious international foray into the world of motorsport revolved around the famous 3.0 CSL, also known among fans as the “Batmobile”, on account of its assortment of wild scoops, spoilers, and flared wheel arches. It achieved considerable success in overseas championships, specifically dominating the European Touring Car Championships until 1979 (four years after going out of production). 

Obviously, this racing success created a need for a local equivalent among the leadership at BMW South Africa. But there was one serious obstacle: our local production car racing regulations required that a number of road-legal versions of the racing car had to be sold – at that stage, this homologation number was set at a hundred examples. And, quite frankly, the 3.0 CSL Batmobile was simply too expensive and rare to be eligible for the local formula.

 

Help from Germany

BMW SA called in some help from Jochen Neerpasch, then the boss of BMW Motorsport, and the mastermind behind the Batmobile and its success. Together, they set to work to develop a suitable race car for South African racing. Why start off with a 5 Series sedan as base vehicle? Because it was there: the E12-generation 5 Series was the smallest model being produced at Rosslyn at that stage, so it would simply have to do.

Other outside help was roped in as well, with the engineers from Alpina (a well-known German maker of souped-up BMWs) also helping to sort out the engine’s go-faster goodies. Incidentally, Alpina parts also helped to create the legendary E30 333i a few years later...

The mechanical specification was finalised with a tuned 3.0-litre big block straight-six (from the M30 engine family) being dropped into place in a bare-bones BMW 525, feeding power to a limited-slip differential through a close-ratio 5-speed manual gearbox with the (in)famous dog-leg shifting pattern. 

In the interest of easy tune-ability, the engine stuck with a twin-carburettor setup, but it still realised respectable outputs for its time: 147 kW and 277 Nm were the officially quoted outputs. Obviously, the suspension and brakes were also tweaked to take advantage of the added speed.

 

For better performance, add lightness

Once they had the mechanical specifications sorted out, it was time to address the other main element in performance: weight. Seeing as the E12 5 Series was quite a heavily-built car, there was a fair bit of excess weight to trim from its frame. Far from just stripping out some sound insulation and creature comforts, the local speed freaks set about with some hole saws to remove excess weight from the body itself.

Holes were drilled pretty much anywhere they could be hidden away by cabin trim: the rear parcel shelf, inner skins of the C-pillars and floorpan braces were all festooned with round holes to get rid of unnecessary metal. Once the inner body was turned into Swiss cheese, the window glass was slimmed down to a thickness of 5 mm, and the battery was replaced by a smaller and lighter item.
 

The result of all this drilling and cutting and general dieting? A quoted saving of 90 kg. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but every little bit helps on the race track. It didn’t really matter that the loss of metal probably affected the E12’s structural rigidity anyway, because race cars would soon regain all that (and more) through the addition of a sturdy roll cage. A set of lightweight BBS alloy wheels, mildly-aggressive spoilers, and some red-and-blue M stripes rounded off the package.

 

Success followed, then led to greater things

The new, lighter BMW received its own name and a bespoke body kit to set it apart from its pedestrian brethren. Christened the 530 MLE (Motorsport Limited Edition), the unique local race car racked up an impressive series of victories, winning 15 consecutive races and earning BMW SA three national championships in as many years.

The 530 MLE’s influence wasn’t confined to local racetracks, however. According to legend, when Herr Neerpasch returned to Germany, he started pushing for increased efforts in motorsport, leading to the creation of BMW M. Furthermore, although the 530 MLE was never branded as an M5, the reality is that this local creation set the blueprint for the M5s which were to follow: take a normal 5 Series, save some weight wherever possible, and then shoe-horn BMW's most powerful available engine into it.

 

About this particular 530 MLE

The car with which BMW’s boffins (and outside experts) are currently busy was previously the property of BMW’s local motorsport chief in that era, Peter Kaye-Eddie. This is car number 100 from the first batch of 110 cars built in 1976 (1977 saw another 117 MLEs built, but with less-extensive weight saving). Intended to be a restoration project, Mr Kaye-Eddie never got around to tackling the project, leading to it being parked for two decades. 

Predictably, the car degenerated due to this inaction, and rust soon took a hold of it. Then, at the end of 2018, the car was purchased by BMW SA, with the promise that it will be restored to its original glory and preserved for generations to come. 

We witnessed the car after it was stripped down, and with most of the rust having been eradicated. Some more preparation will soon see it receiving a new coat of white paint, following which a plethora of new and refurbished parts (neatly laid out on the floor of the workshop) will be re-fitted to the car, along with its original but re-upholstered Scheel bucket seats. Of particular interest is the fact that most of the replacement parts are still available on order from Germany: how’s that for after-sales backup?

 

With plans to have this car back to showroom condition before the end of 2019, it will be a treat to meet an exceedingly rare, successful, and very significant piece of BMW South Africa’s history in its original state. You’ll definitely read about it right here, as soon as we’ve had opportunity to sample this magnificent beast.