MADE IN SOUTH AFRICA.

Inspired by the adage ‘win on Sunday, sell on Monday,’ BMW in South Africa made the decision in the mid-1970s to enter motor racing. It just so happened that BMW Motorsport GmbH (the predecessor of today's BMW M GmbH) was developing a racing car based on the first-generation BMW 5 Series E12 at the time. To be homologated for the South African touring car competition, a road-going version was developed and subsequently dubbed the ‘Motorsport Limited Edition’, or MLE for short.

Specific lightweight construction measures, which included the omission of air conditioning and electric windows as well as hand-perforated pedals and body panels, also contributed to the sedan's racing flair. The BMW 530 MLE quickly established itself as a formidable force in the South African racing world. In its debut year 1976, it achieved 15 consecutive victories, culminating in three consecutive championship titles in the Modified Production Series for this high-performance sedan. 

A limited run of 117 BMW 530 MLE models, exclusively for the South African market, rolled off the production line at the BMW plant in Rosslyn, near Pretoria.

The introduction of the 7 Series marked BMW’s decisive entry into the luxury segment, solidifying their position as a major player. South African customers experienced this transition firsthand. The BMW plant in Rosslyn was the only facility outside Germany to assemble the new luxury-class BMW. However, the flagship of the 7 Series, the BMW 745i, appeared to be unavailable for South African customers. This was due to left-hand traffic in the country.

The BMW 745i had a turbocharger installed on the right-hand of the engine bay. This made it unsuitable for countries with left-hand traffic, as the turbocharger would have collided with the steering column mounted on the right. As a result, the South African BMW 745i was fitted with the M88 engine, originally from the iconic BMW M1 sports car. 

South Africans had to wait until 1982 for the privilege of owning a compact sporting BMW. The second generation of the BMW 3 Series was the first to be launched in South Africa. For the belated premiere of the bestseller, former BMW boss Bernd Pischetsrieder, then Technical Director at BMW Group South Africa, and his colleague Vic Doolan conceived a unique offering: the BMW 333i, a model exclusively available to the South African market.

Although the racing series did not materialise, the wheels had been set in motion and the BMW 333i was completed and delivered in 1985. This South African variant with a powerful engine rivalled the performance of the Bavarian original, the BMW M3 E30, although catering to a more discerning and purist driver. The larger six-cylinder engine required space-saving measures, making buyers choose between air conditioning and power steering. 

This uncompromising focus on performance resulted in a limited production run of 210 units of this special edition BMW 333i.

The 325 iS achieved iconic status in South Africa, its nickname ‘Gusheshe’ – meaning ‘the quick one’ – entering common speech in the country. This legendary model held a similar place in South African hearts as the BMW M3 E30 did in Germany.

Like the 333i before it, the BMW 325 iS was engineered for motorsport. To hone it for the demands of the track, weight reduction was paramount. To achieve this, the engineers employed innovative strategies, including the extensive use of aluminium components (some sourced from Switzerland), reduced sound insulation, a smaller battery, thinner instrument glass, and other meticulous measures to shed every possible gram. The culmination of these efforts, the 1990 BMW 325 iS EVO II, tipped the scales at 1,147 kilogrammes. This weight savings propelled the BMW 325 iS into the performance domain previously occupied by the legendary BMW M3 E30.