12.09.2010

EYE CANDY // THE OTHER BATMOBILE BIMMER

EYE CANDY // THE OTHER BATMOBILE BIMMERThought you guys might enjoy this shot of a Motorsport Limited Edition E12 530, a car that was jointly developed by BMW of South Africa and BMW Motorsport GmbH in order to homologate the 3.0-liter 5 Series sedan for competition in the South African Modified Production class. This particular example wears the same livery as the infamous E9 3.0 CSL Batmobile. Image and info courtesy of Motoring con Brio // [comment]

2 comments:

  1. I do remember this from 1976. Quote"The Republic Day Trophy race on 5 June 1976 saw the beginning of a S.A. racing legend with the first of many victories for the 530 MLE. With these racers, BMW gave us the real thing; genuine large capacity production line cars with race-bred pedigrees. The racing engines used produced an impressive 202 kw at 6750 r/min with 318 N.m peak torque at 5500 r/min, and a maximum fifth-gear speed of 235 km/h. To keep this beast on the track, Bilstein gas dampers were supplied all round, anti-roll bars were fitted front and rear, and tandem brake boosters with release valves prevented rear brake-lock. Low profile Dunlop tyres were fitted to 406 mm Chaparral wheels, 279 mm wide at the front and 305 mm wide at the rear, with 275/600 and 300/625 tyres fitted respectively. This powerful package was neatly tucked into an aggressive-looking E12 body with flared wheel arches and the brightly decorated BMW Motor Sport colours."

    These were developed with the aid of Schnitzer and competed until 1978 in the hands of Eddie Keizan (...later to start up TSW wheels) and were bested in late 78 by the new Mazda Capella Rotary entries.

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