Why Is The E12 M535i Overlooked by BMW Enthusiasts?

For too long, the 1980 and 1981 BMW E12 M535i sedan has been dismissed as "not a real M car". The ignorance of the car's BMW M roots, difficult to track down details about production by the M race team, and repetition of opinions masquerading as facts have held this back from the collector BMW status it deserves. The misconceptions about not being a true BMW Motorsport car have been repeated by BMW Car Club members, vintage BMW enthusiasts, and car journalists/youtubers alike. I created this video (sorry for the length) to put all the E12 M535i details scattered across articles, videos, books, and hearsay into an all-in-one proof point video. If you watch this video to the end, and you still disagree with me, my hope is you have learned and retained the facts about this car's heritage and will commit to modify your opinion from "the E12 M535i isn't a true M car" to "the E12 M535i isn't my favorite era or type of M car". That I feel is a fair compromise! I want to thank the sources I used to create this video which include: 1) bmwmregistry.com 2) BMW Group Classic 3) BMW Motorsport archives 4) Lee Brimble photography (leebrimble.co.uk) 5) Vinwiki, Iain Tyrell's Classic Workshop, Harry's Garage (Thanks @EdBolian @harrysgarage @iain_tyrrell for all of your videos and expertise that inspired me to create this video) 6) Top Gear magazine for doing the story in 2016 with the BMW Motorsport "Fab Four" in one group together 7) The community of E12 enthusiasts especially the E12 M535i facebook page and car registry, especially Philippe Jeanneau and Chris Kohler. #bmwm #bmwm5 #bmwmotorsport #bmwe12 #vinwiki #topgear #carsandbids #bringatrailer #hagerty @KennanRolsen @carsandbids @ChrisHarrisonCars @VINwiki @Hagerty

Added 9 Sept 2026