It came left a mark and vanished forever, the BMW M1 of the 70s.
So I think it’s not only me, but many racing fans go back and check the story and look at the photos of the iconic M1.
The reason behind producing the M1, BMW wanted to compete in racing series, but they had to fulfill the FIA regulation so first they needed to built 400-units road cars.
At the time, Lamborghini had the fastest car on the road, the Miura P400 Jota, which reportedly reached a top speed of 199 mph. But BMW was not aiming to build the fastest car; they wanted to create a machine capable of competing in races.
A Project Born from Racing Obsession
The BMW M1 project did not start as a road car for wealthy buyers; it was conceived as a weapon for motorsport.
To make it easier for fans to understand, in the late 1970s BMW wanted a car capable of taking on Porsche in Group 4 and Group 5 racing. FIA regulations required the production of at least 400 road-legal cars for homologation, and that requirement shaped everything that followed.
BMW had never faced a situation like this before, and it was completely new territory. The brand was always known for sporting sedans, a reputation it still holds today, and had never ventured into supercars.
Italian Design, German Engineering
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However, let’s focus more on the car itself. Visually, BMW had never designed anything like it before. It sat low, similar to the supercars of Ferrari or Lamborghini at the time, but underneath, everything was pure German engineering.
In the early days of supercars, the engine was everything, more power meant more performance. BMW equipped the M1 with a 3.5-liter M88 inline-six engine producing 277 horsepower. This engine would later become iconic in BMW’s performance sedans, but here, it debuted in a form few could have expected.
Performance That Matched the Looks
On paper, the M1 delivered exactly what was expected. It could sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just five seconds, with a top speed of around 165 mph, making it the fastest German road car of its time. Most importantly, it did not punish the driver—handling felt effortless, and its engineering was far ahead of anything else in the 1970s.
Unlike other mid-engined supercars, the M1 was praised for its balance and comfort. The cabin was refined, visibility was excellent, and features like air conditioning made it usable beyond short, dramatic drives. Many journalists at the time described the BMW M1 as a supercar you could actually live with.
BMW M1 vs BMW M1 Procar
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The M1 Procar wasn’t just faster—it was a whole different animal. Under the same basic engine block, BMW pushed the power to a staggering 470 horsepower, a huge leap from the road car’s 277 hp. Every part of the car was engineered for the track: lightweight materials, racing components, and a system that let the engine scream all the way to 9,000 rpm, compared to the 6,500 rpm redline of the street M1.
The changes weren’t just on paper—they completely transformed how the car felt. Stripped of luxury, nearly 280 kilograms lighter, the Procar shot from 0 to 60 mph in just 4 seconds, shaving more than a second off the road version, and could hit a top speed of 193 mph.
It wasn’t just the engine or the weight that set the Procar apart—its aerodynamics were completely transformed. A massive rear wing, a deep front air dam, and wider arches gave it stability at high speeds, while the suspension was rebuilt from the ground up: fully adjustable, with uniball joints and thicker anti-roll bars.
BMW M1 Dream
What makes the story of BMW M1 even more interesting; its that many F1 legends have driven it like Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet, And Clay Regazzoni, and that is the reason we decided to bring the memory of the M1.
However, it continued also to compete in endurance racing, in 24 hours of le mans, from 1981 to 1986.
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BMW M1 Price
The price was around $50,000 in today’s money, but at the time it cost 100,000 Deutschmarks. For many buyers, this was too expensive, and according to reports, it was also the moment when BMW began losing money on each car produced, leading them to seriously consider ending production of the model.
But what if this car existed today, like the supercars of the modern era? That’s a big question, but considering how advanced the M1 was for its time, it could easily be worth millions!
However, the car was never officially sold in the United States. Buyers who wanted one had to import it privately and navigate complex regulations, which limited its visibility on public roads and added to the M1’s almost mythical status.
The M1 project was quietly closed in 1981, but the Procar continued to race for some time after it.
To be honest, it was not a failure, it simply arrived at the wrong moment. The BMW M1 went on to influence the BMW M cars we know today, including the original M5 and the M635CSi, and its engine became legendary.
Even today, for me and for fans everywhere, the M1 remains one of the most desirable BMWs ever built.
