BMW M1 Procar
The BMW M1 remains the most exotic car BMW has ever produced. Conceived as a Group 5 racing car that required road-going homologation, it was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign and was originally to be manufactured by Lamborghini. When Lamborghini's financial troubles derailed the arrangement, BMW brought production in-house, with final assembly at Baur in Stuttgart.
The road-going M1 was powered by BMW's M88 engine — a 3,453cc inline-six with dual overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder, and Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection. In road specification, it produced 277 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 330 Nm of torque at 5,000 rpm. Mounted longitudinally behind the cockpit, the engine drove the rear wheels through a ZF five-speed manual transaxle.
Giugiaro's design was a masterpiece of clean, purposeful styling. The wedge-shaped body featured pop-up headlights, large glass areas, and functional rear louvers for engine cooling. Unlike the angular Countach-era supercars, the M1's lines were restrained and elegant, letting the proportions speak for themselves.
The mid-engine layout gave the M1 excellent weight distribution, and the tubular steel space frame chassis provided a rigid platform for the double-wishbone suspension at all four corners. Ventilated disc brakes were fitted all round, and the steering was unassisted rack-and-pinion.
The Procar series was a stroke of marketing genius. Created to promote the M1, it featured identical racing M1s (with engines boosted to over 470 hp) racing as support events at Formula 1 Grand Prix weekends. The top five F1 qualifiers were invited to race, creating spectacular grids that included Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet, and Hans-Joachim Stuck. The series ran in 1979 and 1980.
Only 456 road-going M1s were produced between 1978 and 1981. The car never achieved its racing homologation goals in time, and it was too expensive to sell in large numbers. But the M1's legacy is immense — it established BMW M as a performance division and demonstrated that BMW could compete in the supercar arena. Today, the M1 is one of the most sought-after BMWs, with values reflecting its rarity, significance, and Giugiaro's timeless design.
Verify provenance through BMW Classic — with only 456 built, every car is documented. Check the tubular space frame for corrosion or crash damage. The M88 engine is robust but expensive to rebuild. ZF transaxle is shared with other period supercars, so parts are available. Pop-up headlight mechanisms fail. Original Giugiaro interior trim is unique to the M1 and difficult to source.
Produced from 1978 to 1981. Body panels were manufactured by T.I.R. in Italy, the tubular space frame chassis was built by Marchesi in Italy, and final assembly was performed by Baur in Stuttgart, Germany. Only 456 road cars were completed.