The BMW M1 was a sports car that was produced by German automaker BMW from 1978 to 1981. In the late 1970s, Italian manufacturer Lamborghini entered into an agreement with BMW to build a production racing car in sufficient quantity for homologation. The result was sold to the public, from 1978 to 1981, as the BMW M1. It was the only mid-engined BMW to be mass produced. It employed a twin-cam M88/1 3.5 L 6-cylinder petrol engine with Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection. A version of this motor was later used in the South African version of the BMW 735i, of which 209 examples were built between 1984 and 1986, as well as the E24 BMW M6/M635CSi and E28 BMW M5. The engine had six separate throttle butterflies, four valves per cylinder and produced 277 PS (204 kW; 273 hp) in the street version, giving a top speed of 260 km/h (160 mph). Turbocharged racing versions were capable of producing around 850 hp (634 kW). The M1 coupe was hand-built between 1978 and 1981 under the Motorsport division of BMW as a homologation special for sports car racing.
The body was designed by Giugiaro, taking inspiration from the 1972 BMW Turbo show car. Originally, BMW commissioned Lamborghini to work out the details of the car's chassis, assemble prototypes and manufacture the vehicles, but Lamborghini's financial position meant that BMW reassumed control over the project in April 1978, after seven prototypes were built. Only 456 production M1s were built, making it one of BMW's rarest models. The spirit of the M1 lived on in the M635Csi and the first-generation M5, which shared the same (though slightly modified) engine. The M1 had various successes in motorsports. In 2004, Sports Car International named the car number ten on the list of Top Sports Cars of the 1970s. The M1 is not related to BMW's current 1-series compact executive car.
They actually started a PRO M1 racing series that restricted teams to using just the M1 car. The series became a launching pad for Formula One drivers. The iconic Ferrari driver Niki Lauda won two PRO M1 championships and future F1 Champ Nelson Piquet won one. BMW still supports the series today although M1s long ago were phased out in exchange for 3 series cars.Why write about a car nearly 30 years old? Well, BMW is considering updating the car and releasing a modern version. It is called the M1 Homage Concept. The car has only been seen once, but it just looks brutally wicked in a good way. The current economic environment has stopped BMW and other companies from pursuing such projects, but expect the car to get some attention when the economic situation improves. I honestly don't care for the original M1 design, but the Homage Concept looks like an absolutely beautiful and aggressive car design worth every penny of what will certainly be a very high price.
These odd circumstances led to an odd car. The first M1s look more or less exactly like you might think they would if Lamborghini did half the work and then handed the car off to BMW and did not consult on the rest of the project. The car has some of the swooping designs you see with all Lamborghinis, but also some of the typical lines you see in BMW. Put together, the car looks something like...a DeLorean. To some, this is a beautiful design.
They actually started a PRO M1 racing series that restricted teams to using just the M1 car. The series became a launching pad for Formula One drivers. The iconic Ferrari driver Niki Lauda won two PRO M1 championships and future F1 Champ Nelson Piquet won one. BMW still supports the series today although M1s long ago were phased out in exchange for 3 series cars.Why write about a car nearly 30 years old? Well, BMW is considering updating the car and releasing a modern version. It is called the M1 Homage Concept. The car has only been seen once, but it just looks brutally wicked in a good way. The current economic environment has stopped BMW and other companies from pursuing such projects, but expect the car to get some attention when the economic situation improves. I honestly don't care for the original M1 design, but the Homage Concept looks like an absolutely beautiful and aggressive car design worth every penny of what will certainly be a very high price.
These odd circumstances led to an odd car. The first M1s look more or less exactly like you might think they would if Lamborghini did half the work and then handed the car off to BMW and did not consult on the rest of the project. The car has some of the swooping designs you see with all Lamborghinis, but also some of the typical lines you see in BMW. Put together, the car looks something like...a DeLorean. To some, this is a beautiful design.
