A brilliant first generation E12 BMW 520i, seen on a car market in Beijing in the winter of 2019. It is only the second E12 I ever saw in China, after a red 528. The good Bimmer was in a fine shape for its years, largely original and with the original black paint still feeling smooth. The alloys are from a much newer BMW 5-Series but they looked pretty nice under the 520i.
The E12 BMW 5-Series was made from 1972 until 1981. It wasn’t officially sold in China, but some cars arrived via the gray market and diplomatic channels. This car had an early 2004 insurance sticker, indicating it had been in China from at least that year, but probably longer. I suspect it was an ex-diplomatic car that was later sold on to the private market.
It had odd fake US plates with the text “Sunshine Germany”. These plates were offered by several e-commerce websites a while ago; shipping from the US but most likely made in China. I doesn’t say anything about the car.
Sadly it appears that the 520i doesn’t have real license plates anymore. This is very common with older cars. Due to China’s strict emissions regulations, many of these oldies cannon legally drive anymore and simply loose their license plates. These days, the license plate stays with the car, and when the car is no longer legal, for whatever reason, the license plate number is cancelled as well. Happily, in this case, the car itself was saved. It really is a beauty, so hopefully it ends up in a collection or a museum.
The interior was in almost prefect shape, with the original fabric seats and the original steering wheel. The radio is a modern after-market unit.
The 520i was powered by a 2.0 liter gasoline engine with an output of 130 hp and 172 Nm. This car is fitted with the relatively rare 3-speed automatic transmission (ZF 3HP12). The switch next to the gear lever is for the gearbox’ settings. The small buttons control the automatic windows, a real luxury for the time.
Rear bench seems barely used!
Alloys are from the E60 BMW 5-Series. They give our E12 a retro-style look.
Lots of chrome, and all of it in a good and shiny shape. Even the exhaust pipe looks almost as new. This car was maintained very well and was likely stored somewhere inside. It is not easy to find parts and expertise for these old BMW’s in China. A modern BMW dealer won’t help you, but some specialized shops are nowadays able to import parts from abroad to keep these oldies running a little bit longer.
The car stood on a parking space that didn’t really belong to any specific shop. I asked a guard but he had no idea to whom it belonged. When I visited the same market a few weeks later the 520i was gone.
May she be somewhere safe.
[table id=408 /]