It's not the first time we've “stumbled” on a rare BMW made in South Africa — remember the 333i, the South African alternative to the M3 E30, which wasn't sold there? Now, we discovered there that there was also a real homologation special, the BMW 530 MLE.
It's the first time we've heard of a 5 Series-based homologation special — do you know there's any more? Even the BMW M5, the pinnacle of the 5 Series, was never born to compete, unlike the first M3.
The BMW 530 MLE predates the first M5 (E28), born in 1985; and it even predates the first M535i, whose first version appeared in the E12 generation, the first generation of the 5 Series — the 530 MLE is the “grandfather” of all high-performance 5 Series.
Win on Sunday...
… selling on Monday is the old maxim for any car manufacturer to get involved in the world of competition. BMW is no different. And it was in this sense that it decided, in the mid-1970s, to participate in the Modified Production Series championship in South Africa.
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With the invaluable collaboration of Jochen Neerpasch, German driver and director of the then newly created BMW M GmbH, it wasn't long to have two BMW 5 Series (E12) ready to compete.
However, in order to be able to do so, the regulations required that at least 100 road units be produced for homologation purposes, thus creating the BMW 530 MLE or Motorsport Limited Edition in 1976.
530 MLE, what makes it special
Like any self-respecting homologation special, the 530 MLE also differed from the rest of the 5 Series in crucial aspects, for superior circuit performance.
On the outside, the revised aerodynamics are highlighted, visible in the substantial new front bumper, closer to the ground, and in the rear spoiler, both in fiberglass. The painting, with the tri-colored stripes, typical of M, was standard. The wheels, unique to the 530 MLE, came from Mahle.
Some reports say that the bodywork of the 530 MLE used lighter gauge steel. Confirmed are other solutions to lighten it: holes were manually drilled in some panels, as well as the luggage compartment hinges and the clutch pedal were drilled. Thinner glass in the side windows was also used.
The battery was moved to the trunk (to improve weight distribution), and the rear seat was made of foam. The interior was also distinguished by the unique sports steering wheel, the wooden case handle and the Scheel baquet-style seats. Manual windows and lack of air conditioning completed the set.
Mechanically, the 3.0 l capacity in-line six-cylinder received M's attention — no reprogramming, after all this is the 70s, pre-electronics. The straight-six received a more aggressive profile camshaft, Zenith carburetors and a new, enlarged air filter. It also won an oil cooler and a competition flywheel.
All this resulted in 200 hp and 277 Nm (177 hp in the regular 530), 9.3s in the 0 to 100 km/h and 208 km/h top speed — the competition version debited around 275 hp.
Success on and off the circuits
The BMW 530 MLE proved to be dominant on the circuits. With Eddie Keizan and Alain Lavoipierre at their helm in 1976, they took 15 victories in 15 consecutive races, three consecutive championships (also) won, by which time the competition finally caught up.
The success on the circuits was reflected in the commercial success of the homologation special and also in the perception of BMW as a sports brand and a rival to fear on the circuits.
Despite being expensive for the time, it was no deterrent for the 110 units produced in 1976 (Type 1) to quickly find an owner. In 1977, another 117 units (Type 2) would be produced, which also had no difficulty in being “shipped”.
#100
This important piece of BMW sports saloon history was why BMW South Africa set out to find a surviving unit of the rare 530 MLE.
After a few years, they found the #100 unit in 2018 in need of a thorough restoration — it was owned by Peter Kaye-Eddie, former driver and one of the managers of the 530 MLE competition team.
It is precisely this unity that this article illustrates.
