Publication – Octane
Reviewed by Mark Dixon

BMW – The Unique South African Story
Marek Letowt and Johann Venter
The Vantage Corporation, £144 plus shipping (see text),
ISBN 978 1 234567 89 7

As anyone familiar with the writings of Robert Coucher in this magazine will already know, there are a lot of petrolheads in South Africa – but it still comes as a surprise to learn that the country’s BMW M Fest, held at Kyalami circuit every two years, is the largest of its kind in the world.

But then BMW has a very strong association with South Africa. The first BMW factory outside Germany was opened there in 1973, and it introduced an M-badged car – the 776 530 MLE (Motorsport Limited Edition) – three years before the parent country’s M1. There was a string of BMW models unique to South Africa from the 1960s, including the 1980s SA-spec 745i; the only 7-series to have an M Sport M88 engine.

This huge slipcased volume runs to 600 pages and covers what seems to be every possible aspect of BMW’s history in the country. It begins with a German immigrant called Gunter Ludwig, who arrived there in 1931 with his prize possession, a BMW R47 motorcycle. Becoming SA’s only concessionaire for the brand, he sold the first new BMW bike in 1932. His business, Club Garage, moved into importing Isettas and Glas cars post-war, and then Gunter became part of a new company set up to build Glas-bodied BMW 1800s locally from June 1968. After that, things moved rapidly, notably with the 2500/2800/3.0 and the first-gen 5-series, as pictured above.

Before getting into the meat of all the various SA models, however, the book contains interviews with the succession of BMW managers shipped in to run the SA outpost; remarkably, it wasn’t until 2021 that a South African, Peter van Binsbergen, was appointed as CEO. One senses an occasional disconnect between the locally based up-and-coming board members in Munich and their distant compatriots, all of whom seem to have fallen in love with their new posting and embraced its unique requirements. Tim Abbott, CEO 2014-2020 and a Brit, recalls playing an April Fool’s joke by pretending to have bought a luxury German car. ‘You know without authorsation!’ His German finance director summoned him to a 9am meeting, tore up his email in front of him and said he wouldn’t be going to jail for a fool.

Literally dozens of BMW SA production car types are detailed, along with the rarities, the aftermarket tuners and even the unique SA-spec Land Rover Defender 2.8i, plus coverage of BMW motorsport from the early 1970s onwards. Then there are arty lifestyle pieces, BMW art cars, and a section dedicated to the company’s corporate social responsibility efforts, all well illustrated.

As you can see from the sample spreads, the images used are generously large and the overall design is high-end throughout. While the sheer size means shipping can be expensive, email co-author Johann (Vantage) johann@vantagefineautoart.com to discuss the best way to do it. A Limited Edition of just 333 books is also available, priced at £324 each.