1980 BMW M1
1980 BMW M1
Few machines have solidified their place in the hearts and minds of BMW enthusiasts quite like the M1. BMW’s first foray into supercar territory came with many production setbacks and a short tenure in motorsport, yet somehow BMW had set in motion a movement that would shape the BMW brand for decades to come, the first M car.
History & Homologation
It’s not often that Germany and the Italians team up. It’s a partnership that tends to end in tears, historically speaking. But when BMW set out to build a mid-engined supercar, who better to partner with than the godfathers of style, Lamborghini. Designed by none other than Giorgetto Giugiaro and Giugiaro’s design house ItalDesign, the project hit turbulence early on as Lamborghini’s financial troubles would cause production to falter and fall behind schedule after completing the initial prototypes.
The project was dead in the water. Seeing that BMW Motorsport were in trouble, a team of ex-Lamborghini employees created ItalEngineering, who picked up the project in Italy, managing and coordinating the various contractors like Marchesi, who fabricated the tubular steel space frame and TIR working to produce the fibreglass body panels required to bring Giorgetto’s vision to life.
The partially built M1’s were then sent to Baur in Stuttgart for the M88 engine, ZF 5-speed manual gearbox, interior and running gear to be fitted before finally ending their journey at BMW in Munich for final tuning and inspection. In total 453 M1’s were made, 54 of which put aside for motorsport competition.
Intended for Group 5 racing to challenge Porsche’s 935, production delays and changing FIA rules and regulations pushed the M1 to compete in Group 4 and although privateer teams would later build M1’s that passed scrutiny in Group 5, they never achieved the success BMW had imagined at concept.
Procar
The creation of Procar, built in conjunction with Formula One is when things really started to take off for the M1. Running from 1979 to 1980, Procar was a one make one model race series that pitted the top five Formula One qualifiers each week against fifteen privateers, all of whom would be racing M1s. Niki Lauda would take the championship in the inaugural 1979 season, with Nelson Piquet snatching victory in 1980. So popular was the Procar Championship that racing fans would turn up to racetracks just to see the M1 race, rather than the Formula One spectacle.
Although never officially sold in the UK, vehicles were marketed by BMW Motorsport as “ex works” and required buyers to personally import the cars. Servicing work was to be carried out by BMW GB at Reading. The M1 was monstrously expensive by the time it went on sale, and after adding 10% special car tax and 17.5% VAT, the ‘UK list price’ equated to £37,500, equivalent to just over £160,000 in today’s money. By comparison, A Ferrari 512 BB cost £35,100, A Porsche Turbo £27,950 and an Aston Martin Vantage £36,999.
Mid-Engined Dream
Developed by Paul Rosche (the man behind the S14 in-line four cylinder), the M1 housed a 3.5 litre straight-six. The M88/1 in road spec produced 277bhp and 330 N⋅m of torque at 5,000rpm and could sprint from 0-60mph in a brisk 5.4sec, reaching maximum velocity at 162mph. Six individual throttle bodies, twin-camshafts and a Kugelfischer-Bosch mechanical fuel injection system helped to produce some impressive figures. But this engine had much more to give, with Procar engines developing 470bhp and later turbocharged Group 5 engines churning out a planet moving 850-1,000bhp!
Former Custodians
This M1 was one of the last to roll off the production line and delivered to the main BMW Concessionaires in Kontich, Pierstraat 231, Belgium in 1980 and first registered on 29th December of that year to a company by the name of SA Multi European Associates. Our research has led us to the conclusion that this was a leasing company, and the M1 was owned and used by a senior executive as his company car.
The M1 would change hands a few more times, first to a Mr Ableson in Quebec, Canada, who later relocated the car back to his native Switzerland. It then passed to a Mr Gassmann, a collector with his own museum to display his car and used very sparingly. In fact, for most of his 27 years of ownership, the car remained on special “collectors” registration plates and the only significant journey he undertook was a trip to the Nurburgring.
This M1 came to us in factory standard and original condition. It retained all its service books, workshop manual, tool kit, first aid kit, radio and manual plus all the original advertising brochures used by BMW to market the M1. These brochures included the very rare luggage brochure, upholstery brochure and Motorsport accessory catalogue from 1980.
All good things...
This year we made the difficult decision to offer this incredible BMW M1 for sale.
The full listing for the M1 can be found here.
For a more extensive gallery, you can view the listing on Pistonheads here.
Our Thoughts
This legendary M1 has formed the cornerstone of our Hero Collection for the past 15 years, offered in its purest form and supplied as factory standard, save for the very costly half leather motorsport seats. Presented in Nachtblau, it makes up one of 59 road cars and 2 race cars finished in this fantastic colour and we are very proud and lucky to be the latest custodians of such an important part of BMW’s history.
1980 BMW M1
1980 BMW M1