CLASSICS
BMW’s 530 MLE restore moves swiftly along
The wreckage first shown has morphed into a smoothed out and recognisable shape and new parts have arrived
Work has started on the BMW SA project 530i MLE that was announced back in December. The revival of car number 100 of the rare 1976 E12 BMW 530 MLE, the latest in a series of rebuilds that include the fabled BMW M1 from the late 1970s and the pair of 80s’ E30 BMW 333i and 325iS, is in full swing. After years of searching, BMW SA recently acquired one of the only BMW 530 MLEs known to have endured beyond its 1970s’ heydays. Car number 100 comes with a particular pedigree — it was owned by race driver and racing 530 MLE’s team manager Peter Kaye-Eddie, and its engine and chassis numbers are a matching set. The undertaking is part of the BMW Group’s centenary commemorations and BMW SA has committed itself to awaken a few classics, some of which boast a uniquely SA history like this 530 MLE of which only 217 were made. The story goes that some 42 years ago BMW SA was itching to enter the flagship Modified Production Series locally. The solution at the time was to weaponise the type 1 ...
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