Interesting car, the M1. With less than 500 made, it was too exotic to be a daily-driver Sports/GT car, but the perception of its inline six wasn’t quite exotic enough to play with the Italians. In fact, it wasn’t really meant to be a road car in the first place. The M1 has its genesis in the Turbo Concept, a design study commemorating the 1972 Munich Games. At the same time, BMW was building a racing program with cars developed specifically for the track, offering a limited number of cars for public sale in order to homologation rules. This was BMW Motorsport GmbH, with the M1 its first focused effort into sports car racing (the CSL of the early 70s had great success, but was based on the existing E9). The plan was to partner with Lamborghini to build the cars for the newly created World Championship of Makes, using the Turbo Concept as inspiration for the Giugiaro-penned design. That plan soon fell apart, paralleling Lamborghini’s woes that eventually led to their bankruptcy in 1978. With Lamborghini unable to meet their commitment, BMW forged ahead, using a combination of Giugiaro’s Ital Design and coachbuilder Baur (who among other things also built the 2002 and E21 Cabriolets) for assembly. However, by the time the cars were ready to race, the series for which it was created had become obsolete. The focus then shifted to selling the 430 homologated road cars to the public. Faced with parent BMW’s priority toward its highly successful family cars and Motorsport’s attention toward Formula 1, production of the M1 halted at the end of 1980. It’s one of those cars that deserve better than the hand they were dealt. Regardless, its mission had been accomplished. Despite all the problems and hurdles of its racing program, it was the car that solidified BMW’s Motorsport division which would later develop the now legendary line of M Cars, including the first-generation M5 and M6 that used a more refined and more reliable form of the M1’s M88 motor (albeit not in the US). Nearly 30 years after production ended, it may finally be realizing its place in automotive history. As little as five years ago, the M1 was still trying to find some respect beyond the BMW fan base. It wasn’t uncommon to find a pristine example for just inside six figures, despite its low production numbers. If the last six months are any indication, they are now on par with an early 80s Ferrari Boxer or Lamborghini Countach, with some exceptional examples commanding a quarter mil. Today’s M1 appears to be one of those exceptional examples. It is an Italian spec car (as most that found there way to the US were) having covered just over 5,000 kilometers and what looks to be completely original, outstanding condition. Inka Orange is a perfect color for an M1 and gives the car a fresh appearance that is a nod to both its CSL roots and Lamborghini beginnings. Find it here at Canepa Design in Scotts Valley CA for an undisclosed price.
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