The 530 MLE was BMW South Africa factory-prepared race car for competing in the country's Modified Production Series in the mid-1970s. In 1976, the machine scored 15 wins in 15 consecutive starts, and the vehicle also tallied three championships in as many years.
As part of the Modified Production Series rules, BMW South Africa had to make at least 100 road-legal versions of the 530 MLE. A team at the factory drilled the pedals and bodywork by hand to reduce weight. The sedans came with manual windows and no air conditioning to save weight. They featured a tuned version of the brand's 3.0-liter inline-six engine now making 197 horsepower (147 kilowatts) and 204 pound-feet (277 Newton-meters) of torque.