How BMW’s South African Racecars were born – Official BMW Group SA Chronicles (Episode 2)

BMW Group SA produced the first-gen 5-Series in the ’70s and 80’s, but in the spirit of “Win on Saturday, Sell on Monday”, the Rosslyn-based brand produced a pair of homologation specials to take the E12 racing: the 530 MLE and 535i Lightweight.

Today, BMW is a desirable premium car brand in South Africa, but in the early Seventies, BMW Group South Africa was but a fledgling brand that had begun producing the E12-generation 5 Series.

In a stroke of marketing genius, the local subsidiary of the Munich-based brand decided to raise its public profile by developing homologation specials (derivatives of which a specific number needed to be built before they’d be allowed to compete in national saloon racing) to compete in local motorsport.

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In the 2nd instalment of a 6-part video series, in which we take a deep dive into the history of this iconic brand in South Africa, Jacob Moshokoa presents the legendary 530 MLE and 535i Lightweight (both unique-so-SA derivatives of the E12-generation 5 Series) that were developed and built here in Mzansi.

He also chats with renowned BMW racing driver and former BMW Group SA head of vehicle testing, Geoff Goddard about the local ingenuity and resourcefulness that led to the creation of those cars.

Check out Episode 1 here.