Photo: globalautosports.com
You know how people always say ‘those were the days’? When talking BMWs it’s an extremely often used phrase, most people still thinking of the masterpieces the Bavarians used to make 20 or 30 years ago.
Looking over the history of the Munich-based company, you’ll soon notice that, despite their reputation for making sporty cars and focusing on the driving experience when sitting behind the wheel, they actually made only one supercar over their near 100 years of car making endeavor.
That one car was the M1 and it was developed back in the 1970s, entering production towards the end of that era, in 1978, just as the consequences of the 1973 oil crisis were starting to die off. Therefore, the first proper M car and its fuel-guzzling engine could be released into the wild.
From the get go BMW went to Lamborghini to joint develop this jewel and you can easily see that both by the overall shape of the body (that is still used on modern day Lambos) and by the way the doors open. Giugiaro was the one that signed the design sheet in the end, as the two manufacturers fell apart before the car entered production.
Unlike any other BMW, the car was mid-engined, fitted with a twin-cam M88/1 3.5-liter 6-cylinder inline unit using Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection that had six separate throttle bodies and made 277 HP in the street legal version.
Of course, the M1 was used in various racing events over the years. That meant that the engine could be fiddled with to make even more power and turbocharged racing versions reached even 850 HP.
In the end, only 456 M1s were built and sold over the 3 years it was in production, making it one of the rarest cars the Germans ever made. Apart from these, a couple more were built for racing purposes only so the exact production number is still unknown.
One special model built especially for the BMW M1 Procar Championship that pitted all sorts of drivers against one another driving the exact same car. Amongst them you could find Formula One champions, World Sportscar Championship drivers, European Touring Car racers, including the famous Niki Lauda.
Unlike the road-legal versions, the M1 Procar versions had a more aggressive aerodynamic body kit with a huge spoiler at the back, plastic windows while inside you had no luxuries at your disposal but a roll cage.
The suspension was changed, the wheels were different (they used a central locking bolt), the weight was decreased to just 1,020 kg (2,248 lbs) and the engine’s power output was raised to 470 HP at a mind blowing 9,000 RPM. In short: it was a beast. The price tag? $60,000.
By now you probably want one, right? If it was good enough for Niki Lauda, it must be for you too. Well, lucky for you, if you live in California you can buy one, if you can afford it.
GlobalAutoSports has one such car up for sale right now, for just $250,000. It’s a 1980 model that looks like a Procar model. However, you get proper windows (yes, made out of glass) and a full interior. So what happened?
According to the seller’s note, the M1 was originally a stock, production version model and he worked really hard to make it look like a Procar version, adding all the exterior bits and pieces like the huge wing at the back, flared fenders and new wheels with a central locking bolt.
The complete list of modifications is absolutely incredible including custom made sway bars, 2 inch coilovers, re-valved Bilstein shocks, suspension points altered to facilitate alignment, 5 inch air ducts and even cooling cones for the wheels and the list goes on.
In the end, around $60,000 were invested in this car and it was also featured on the cover of numerous magazines over the years, starting back in 1993. The car is street legal in California and it’s definitely worth more than $250,000. The fact that it’s not included in an auction makes things even better as we’re sure people would raise the price tag through the roof to try and get their hands on it.
That one car was the M1 and it was developed back in the 1970s, entering production towards the end of that era, in 1978, just as the consequences of the 1973 oil crisis were starting to die off. Therefore, the first proper M car and its fuel-guzzling engine could be released into the wild.
From the get go BMW went to Lamborghini to joint develop this jewel and you can easily see that both by the overall shape of the body (that is still used on modern day Lambos) and by the way the doors open. Giugiaro was the one that signed the design sheet in the end, as the two manufacturers fell apart before the car entered production.
Unlike any other BMW, the car was mid-engined, fitted with a twin-cam M88/1 3.5-liter 6-cylinder inline unit using Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection that had six separate throttle bodies and made 277 HP in the street legal version.
Of course, the M1 was used in various racing events over the years. That meant that the engine could be fiddled with to make even more power and turbocharged racing versions reached even 850 HP.
In the end, only 456 M1s were built and sold over the 3 years it was in production, making it one of the rarest cars the Germans ever made. Apart from these, a couple more were built for racing purposes only so the exact production number is still unknown.
One special model built especially for the BMW M1 Procar Championship that pitted all sorts of drivers against one another driving the exact same car. Amongst them you could find Formula One champions, World Sportscar Championship drivers, European Touring Car racers, including the famous Niki Lauda.
Unlike the road-legal versions, the M1 Procar versions had a more aggressive aerodynamic body kit with a huge spoiler at the back, plastic windows while inside you had no luxuries at your disposal but a roll cage.
The suspension was changed, the wheels were different (they used a central locking bolt), the weight was decreased to just 1,020 kg (2,248 lbs) and the engine’s power output was raised to 470 HP at a mind blowing 9,000 RPM. In short: it was a beast. The price tag? $60,000.
By now you probably want one, right? If it was good enough for Niki Lauda, it must be for you too. Well, lucky for you, if you live in California you can buy one, if you can afford it.
GlobalAutoSports has one such car up for sale right now, for just $250,000. It’s a 1980 model that looks like a Procar model. However, you get proper windows (yes, made out of glass) and a full interior. So what happened?
According to the seller’s note, the M1 was originally a stock, production version model and he worked really hard to make it look like a Procar version, adding all the exterior bits and pieces like the huge wing at the back, flared fenders and new wheels with a central locking bolt.
The complete list of modifications is absolutely incredible including custom made sway bars, 2 inch coilovers, re-valved Bilstein shocks, suspension points altered to facilitate alignment, 5 inch air ducts and even cooling cones for the wheels and the list goes on.
In the end, around $60,000 were invested in this car and it was also featured on the cover of numerous magazines over the years, starting back in 1993. The car is street legal in California and it’s definitely worth more than $250,000. The fact that it’s not included in an auction makes things even better as we’re sure people would raise the price tag through the roof to try and get their hands on it.
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