BMW’S BRILLIANT PLAN
Problems and delays kept the M1 from hoped-for success
The single-purpose desire to win can spawn some fantastic creations, and the BMW M1 was one of them. Almost. Back in 1975, BMW’s motorsports division wanted to build a win-at-allcosts machine that could out-duel the Porsches and other European makes in production-class track battles. This was the inspiration for the M1.
Under international rules, “production class” meant that BMW had to build a minimum of 400 M1s for the street before the car would be allowed to compete on the track. This process, called homologation, is expensive and time consuming. BMW hoped to deal with that by farming out most of the work to companies with experience building low-volume exotic vehicles.
Originally, the design and construction of the M1 (The “M” stood for motorsports) was to be an all-Italian affair. For the bodywork, Giorgetto Guigiaro’s ItalDesign was given the styling task, while Lamborghini, a company with plenty of experience building exotics for the rich and famous, handled final-assembly chores.
The 3.5-litre inline six-cylinder engine, installed directly behind the cockpit, was the only major component manufactured by BMW. Based on an existing design, the 24-valve doubleoverhead-cam powerplant developed 277 horsepower at 6,500 rpm.
The street versions of the M1 were quick, but not astonishingly so. Zero-to60 mph (96 km/h) took 5.4 seconds and top speed was pegged at 162 mph (260 km/h). The first of the M1 prototypes were shown to the public in the spring of 1977 at the Geneva (Switzerland Motor Show). The car displayed all the correct elements that were considered essential — and desirable — for any premium sports car. It featured pop-up headlights, unique alloy wheels, air conditioning, power windows and a luxurious interior.
BMW was so confident of its outsourcing strategy that it originally planned to sell 800 — double the number required for homologation — M1s to well-heeled buyers for about US $55,000 each, a price that, at the time, was competitive with the Porsche 911 Turbo.
Immediately, however, the plan began to fall apart.
Lamborghini, BMW’s primary contractor, was already on shaky footing and was forced to back out.
Two Italian specialty shops were hired to complete the tubular-steel-spaceframe chassis and produce the fibreglass body panels while Baur, a Stuttgart, Germany-based shop, handled the final assembly.
The problems that plagued Lamborghini led to a delay of more than a year for the M1, with the first customer car arriving in early 1979. By then it was too late to achieve homologation for the ’79 season. In fact, BMW was unable to make it for 1980.
Meanwhile, the company’s executives were planning to move into open-wheel Formula One competition as an engine supplier and the original 800-car M1 schedule was pared down to slightly more than half that.
The M1 might have been down, but it wasn’t out.
An innovative marketing scheme was hatched that pitted identically prepared competition M1s against each other in warm-up races prior to each Formula One race. The series, called Procar, included a hand-picked field of experienced road-race and F1 drivers.
There was also an attempt at the 1979 French 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. The M1 finished sixth in its class; however, even more distinguishing was its paint job that came courtesy of late pop artist Andy Warhol.
It wasn’t until April of 1981 that the M1 finally achieved homologation status and competed in production races. Unfortunately, by then it was outdated and outmatched.
The last of the M1s were completed in February of 1981.
Today, these mid-engine GermanItalian marvels are revered and appreciated for their superb overall performance and handling as well as their excellent build quality. They also set the tone for what would become a class of BMW M cars that is ranked high on any automotive enthusiast’s list of desirable rides.
Malcolm Gunn is a feature writer with Wheelbase Media. He can be reached on the Web at www.theoctanelounge.com by clicking the contact link. Wheelbase supplies automotive news and features to newspapers across North America.