The BMW E12 was the first generation of the 5 Series. It appeared in September 1972 and remained in production until 1981. One of the factories from which the ‘Five’ cars left was the Rosslyn assembly plant on the outskirts of Pretoria. BMW had pragmatic motivation: importing a finished E12 from Germany would involve prohibitive customs duties. It was cheaper to assemble copies for the local market locally.

At a similar time, in Germany the work continued with the goal of developing better E12s. Thus, the idea was born to produce a special, faster version in South Africa for promotional and experimental purposes. They sent the first BMW 530 MLE (that was the designation used) to the Schnitzer plant in Germany. There, they inserted the safety cage, modified the brakes and the exhaust system. Then they transported the finished prototype by plane to South Africa, where preparations for the start of production were in full swing. Modifications in relation to the serial ‘Five’ were profoundly serious. They slimmed the car down by about 170 kg, made it sportier and installed a 3-litre engine from the BMW E9 under the bonnet.

Configured in this way, the car was a remarkable success. In 1975, 100 units were produced, as this was the homologation minimum, but this batch sold out immediately. A year later it was 110 units, which, despite the high price, the market absorbed just as readily. The 530 MLE competed in various races in South Africa and won in grand style. Could you want a better advertisement?

From there it was only a step to the next idea, offering customers who were not entirely satisfied with the power of their BMW 525 or 528 the possibility to send their units to Motorsport. There, they could have the engine replaced to a 218-hp 3.5-litre unit. Following this, 960 cars were prepared with the series bodies, but originally armed with sports components. These cars have a VIN which, once decoded, clearly indicates the car’s origin from BMW Motorsport GmbH and its 3.5-litre engine capacity. The M535 in the photos is just one of the 960 units mentioned.

This is a car that has gone unnoticed by collectors for a long time. The Bonaventura Classic Collection had been considering the idea of including such a configured E12 in their assemblage. The search went on for an exceedingly long time, and finally they found a promising specimen in Poland, having come from Italy. Unfortunately, in Italy, the vehicle stood under the open sky unused for a couple of years. In 2017, the president of the Polish BMW E12 club found out about it and decided to buy it. He was convinced that he had just acquired an excellent parts donor. However, when he took a closer look at the car back in Poland and discovered that the 50000 km mileage on the odometer was true, he decided that it was a bad idea to take such a car apart. He did not want to do any restoration work on it, so he sold the car. This is how this particular BMW ended up in the Bonaventura Classic Collection.

At the time of purchase, the E12 was tired but drivable. The comfort of a working engine was only temporary, as it turned out that – apart from the engine – almost nothing else in the car worked. Neither the lights nor the windscreen wipers operated due to electrical damage. Of the gauges, only the speedometer showed signs of life, and that is only because it is mechanical. Fortunately, restoring the clocks to working order required only easy maintenance – cleaning the contacts. The cure for the rest of the inadequacies turned out to be a comprehensive overhaul. During disassembly, it became obvious that the low mileage was pure truth, evidenced by the negligible state of wear and tear on the car and its individual components.

– The characteristic element here is the steering wheel – the same as in the M1 but with a different diameter. It is very pleasant to drive, which is why I participated in the international events organised by BMW clubs from Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Modern motoring gives us products without a clear affiliation. Identifying new cars with a particular country can be difficult. In our garage, there may be a French car made in the Czech Republic by a manufacturer belonging to a multinational concern. A concern where identity does not play a role. This BMW is also an international story. Here is a German car with an African thread in the background, purchased in Poland after years spent in Italy. The BMW E12 M535i shows that, like its contemporary counterparts, it too can be a citizen of the world. But it does so in a very sophisticated way.