BMW South Africa has donated former president Nelson
Mandela’s BMW 7 Series Security Vehicle to the 46664 Mandela Day School Library
project. The customised BMW 7 series, fitted with a blue light grill, which was
given to the former President by the Bavarian car maker, will be auctioned in
the coming months. The proceeds will go towards supplying fully-stocked
container libraries to disadvantaged schools in Johannesburg.
The office of the former president returned the car to BMW at the end of its service life. It has since been restored to an immaculate condition and is currently on display at the Franschoek Motor Museum.
The private auction will determine the next home for the car, which was used as the official transport for arguably the most famous and revered statesman of our generation. Vying to take ownership of the former president’s BMW at the silent auction will be avid car collectors as well as museums of the world. “It is important that we balance the preservation of history surrounding the car with the commercial reality of funding the next phase of the 46664 Mandela Day School Library project,” says Robert Coutts, CEO of 46664 BANGLE Initiative.
“We hope that the car will find a home in a museum in South Africa so the history is preserved appropriately in our own country. Once the car has been sold for the price we anticipate, it means we would be in a position to deliver one library every 6 weeks for a year,” states Coutts.
“With 90% of South African schools without libraries, there is a glaringly huge gap in the resources necessary to educate young children. As BMW we are happy to make a contribution to this excellent initiative as the country seeks sustainable solutions to its education challenges,” says Bodo Donauer, BMW South Africa’s Managing Director.
As part of the agreement, the first two libraries acquired will be placed at schools in the communities surrounding BMW’s Plant Rosslyn, north of Pretoria, where the majority of BMW workers hail from.
STORY BY BMW
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