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Revival BMW M1 Concept Is Long Overdue, So How About Digital Model Year 2025?

Back in the late 1970s, BMW had a dream – to build a homologation production racing car alongside Lamborghini. But conflicts arose, relationships were broken, and the car still got made. It was the legendary BMW M1.
2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade 31 photos
Photo: hycade / YouTube
2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade2025 BMW M1 Concept rendering by hycade
With model code E26, this iconic mid-engine sports car that was produced by the German automaker between 1978 and 1981 in less than 500 examples still had Italian roots. This was because the design was penned by none other than Giorgetto Giugiaro when at Italdesign and initial assembly occurred in Turin, Italy, before it moved to Munich, Germany for final assembly and quality inspections.

The model is significant in many ways for BMW, but we can always relate to it being the first mid-engine project by the Bavarian automaker. The fact that the second production mid-engined one is the departed i8 hybrid sports car is quite irrelevant, as it was never intended to be its spiritual successor like the 2008 BMW M1 Homage concept that celebrated its 30th anniversary.

As it turns out, people have been expecting a proper successor for decades. One of them has been longing for a modern M1 reinterpretation for exactly a decade and now finally decided to do something about it. With the man being the virtual artist better known as hycade on social media, the logical decision was obvious – imagine an unofficial second-generation M1 from virtual reality scratches.

And since the pixel master can easily be seen as a massive sports car fan if they are cool, sleek, and do not have XXXL kidneys, there was no other way of making the digital M1 for the model year 2025 than with normal-sized kidneys and a louvered rear. Do you see now, BMW designers, how easy it would be to uphold the legacy and still present the model in question as something coming from the future?

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About the author: Aurel Niculescu
Aurel Niculescu profile photo

Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution.
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