1978 BMW 5 Series - 520 (E12)

Number of cylinders: 6

Service history: Present

Registration number: 60-SK-DP

BMW 5-Serie 520 (E12), 1978. Seven owners, 995 km, service books from new.

There are cars that mean nothing to you—until you get behind the wheel. The BMW E12 was that car for me. I grew up with Alfa Romeo in my blood: a grandfather who ran the dealership in Alkmaar, a 33 Sportwagon as my first car. I never expected a Bavarian saloon to stop me in my tracks. Then one day I drove one. Nothing dramatic, nothing fast—just Alkmaar to Bergen along those narrow lanes through the dunes. And somewhere between the Egmonds and Bergen aan Zee, it clicked. The E12 doesn't shout. It whispers. And if you listen carefully, you hear something truly special.

The E12 was the original 5 Series. Full stop. Everything that followed—the E28, the E34, the E39, that legendary E60 with its controversial headlamps, today's digital cockpits with more screens than Mission Control—it all started here. In 1972 the first E12 rolled off the line in Munich, and BMW had, in one stroke, created the car that would define the sports saloon. Not an S-Class rival, not the luxury-on-wheels approach Mercedes favoured, but something of its own. A car for people who preferred driving to being driven.

Paul Bracq penned it—the same man responsible for the Mercedes 600 Grosser and the BMW Turbo concept. The E12 introduced that signature Hofmeister kink in the C-pillar, a detail that has appeared on every BMW saloon since. The nose was sharp, the flanks taut, the proportions just right. Not a gram too many, not a line too few. Functional beauty, you might call it.

The story continues on our website, where the full file is kept as well. 73 photographs including the underside. The service history, scanned in full. The Carfax report. Paint thickness measured panel by panel. The original factory brochure to page through. A timeline from 6 February 1978 to today, with every owner and the mileage year by year in a single graph.

Every car here follows the same route: first pre-market, then the showroom, and finally the live auction on our own site. What changes is the way you buy, not the location — once a car has arrived, it stays with us in Katwijk. This one is in the showroom and you are welcome to come and see it, no appointment needed. You buy it here at a fixed price: no bidding, no waiting. Our showroom in Katwijk, 30 km from Amsterdam Schiphol, is open Mon–Fri 9–18 and Sat 10–17. Call ahead and it will be standing ready, with someone free for you.

Within the EU no customs duty arises on this purchase. Registration tax and registration costs in your own country are not included. We supply the export documents and assist with the registration. The price shown is the full price for collection in Katwijk. We arrange insured door-to-door transport worldwide, cost quoted per destination beforehand.

Prefer a different colour or specification than this example? Tell us what you are looking for — another BMW we can often find through our network of marque specialists and collectors, outside the listings. Have one of your own: we buy exceptional cars outright, classic or modern.

Our showroom measures 6,000 m², with over 150 cars under one roof. You are just as welcome if you are not buying — walk around, take your time and enjoy the cars; sharing the enthusiasm is half of it.