530 MLE - Drive 4 Corners

[tschultz]

Hello all,

I am not actually not a S.A. resident, but rather live in the USA as a fellow BMW enthusiast. I have been involved in setting up an annual BMW gathering in my region, and part of our goal has been to contribute to our community by sharing BMW-related content weekly with our followers.
This week, I have a special article with some information I have been researching for weeks. Not much is known about this car in North America, but I present you with the story of the E12 530 MLE of South Africa.

I started learning about the E12 530 MLE, and found it quite interesting. Here in the US, there is not much knowledge of the unique South African models. I put together an article compiling all of the information I found find regarding these cars so that it can be accessed all in one place. Thanks to the help of Klaus, I have an article that, I am happy to say, is accurate and interesting.

South Africa has been a unique automotive market, and a thriving community for automotive manufacturing. Because of this, there is currently a following for all of the major automotive manufacturers, including BMW, Toyota, Mercedes, Volkswagen, and Renault. In particular, there is a rather large following of BMW enthusiasts, and proof of this is the large range of models offered by BMW Motorsport. Sporty South African-specific models such as the E23 M745i, E30 333i, and the Alpina powered E30 325is (All offered in RHD of course) are almost cult cars to many in North America, but rather well known to South African natives. BMW roots in South Africa started back in the late 60′s with the offering of GLAS based BMW’s such as the 1800 GL, 2000 GL, 1804 and 2004 models (more interesting, look up the BMW Cheetah).

Full story here:
http://drive4corners.com/index.php/forgotten-beginnings-530-mle/

 

[zaleonardz]

Awesome...

Thanks for the article bud, welcome..

 

[Luis Malhou]

Looks good and interesting reading Tom

:bravo:

 

[Jerez]

530MLE.... Arguably the first M car ever with true racing heritage.
My uncle owned one and reprayed it in Henna red ( yuk ).... Then sold it for R6500 in 1986---- Sob Sob

 

[MikeR]

:thumbs:

 

[KPM3_30]

Great article, makes for very interesting reading :thumbs:

 

[tschultz]

Glad you all enjoyed it