14/06/2022
The BMW 530 MLE (Motorsport limited edition) – officially not the first M car, but unofficially so.
Back in the late 70’s when BMW was brewing something with Lamborghini, the South Africans were working on something special as well. BMW South Africa wanted to compete in the country’s modified production racing series and for that, they needed a competitive machine. Contact was established with Jochen Neerpash – head of BMW motorsport at the time. Approval was given to build a couple of E12-based competition cars. For these cars to compete in the modified production racing series, a minimum of 100 homologated road cars had to be produced and sold to the public.
Thus, we have the BMW 530 MLE. Two years before, the iconic BMW M1 was launched.
Hand-built at BMW Rosslyn, E12 525 shells were chosen and a lot of changes were made to these shells. Holes were drilled under the seats, through the parcel shelf, through the c-pillars, rear seat panel and inside the bonnet – all in the name of weight saving. Aircon, electric windows and power-steering? Forget about it.
The beating heart of the 530 MLE was the M30 6-cylinder 3.0L engine, this time featuring a new cam and higher compression Mahle pistons. Fed by two down-draught carbs – this beauty produced 147kW (Golf 5 GTi power back in the late 70’s) and 227Nm all mated to a close-ratio 5-speed Getrag gearbox with a dogleg layout. Driving the rear wheels was a BorgWarner limited-slip differential. BMW SA meant business!
All of the production cars were produced in white with the famous BMW Motorsport colours. They also had special body panels contributing to aerodynamics. This included a fibreglass air dam, fibreglass boot spoiler and hand-cast rubber arch extenders. With this being BMW Motorsport, the suspension and brakes were fiddled with as well. Bilstein shocks were included along with ventilated discs up front and solid discs at the rear.
With all of the above being said, it’s noted that the BMW 530 MLE was the first production car featuring the M designation on it’s vin plate. This certified the 530 MLE within the hall of fame and ensured for it to have the motorsport heritage it was intended for.
