The Perfect Road Trip Cruiser: BMW M1 Supercar
If there is one car we can’t ever get tired of seeing, then it has to be the BMW M1 Supercar. The M1 is not only one of the most iconic cars in the world, period, but also the only production supercar ever launched by BMW.
If you’re a fan of the BMW M1 you probably already know the story behind it. BMW wanted to create a mid-engine supercar with the help of some Italian minds but things didn’t exactly pan out as they were planned. The car was designed by one of the best minds in the business: Georgetto Giugiaro.
In 1972, Paul Bracq developed a concept car for BMW, called the BMW Turbo, which would eventually go on to become the BMW M1. While Bracq was the man behind the concept that would eventually become the BMW M1, Jochen Neerpasch was the man behind the M1 itself.
Lamborghini was contracted to build 400 cars for homologation purposes, so it could qualify for Group 4 racing. Unfortunately, Lamborghini was suffering from quite a lot of financial trouble at the time, so the M1’s proaction was postponed until the Italian firm went bankrupt and BMW was forced to cancel the contract.
After that, an Italian company called Marchese built the car’s tubular frame while TIR built the fiberglass body and Ital Design would put the two together and install the interior. The finished product would then be sent to Baur in Stuttgart who would then install the engine and transmission.
From there, the car would be shipped to BMW’s M Division who would then finalize the product. Eventually, the BMW M1 would be shut down with only 430 units made, with around 40 made for racing.
The BMW M1 was possibly the first everyday supercar, a car with incredibly performance that could also be driven comfortably everyday. The M1’s 24-valve, 3.5 liter I6, dry sump, mid-mounted engine was a gem, being built for racing but also great to drive at low speeds. It developed 266 hp, which was quite a lot in 1980, and was capable of 0-60 in 5.4 seconds and 8 seconds to 100 mph. That’s quick by today’s standards but was monstrous in 1980.
And as they say, the rest is history.
Today, we would like to honor the BMW M1 Supercar with a special photoshoot which took place at at time when the world was different than today. Courtesy of BMW Group Classic in Munich, you get to see the BMW M1 in the iconic red paint.
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