Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este

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BMW – M1 (1981)

Details

Vehicle Type:
Coupé
Coach Builder:
T.I.R./Italdesign/Baur
Cylinders:
6
Engine CC:
3453
Entrant
Harrie van den Anker (NL)

Class F

50 Years of Mean Machinery: BMW’s M Cars and their Ancestors

BMW - M1
Class F90

The name M1 is as short and practical as possible. It represents the first independent model by BMW Motorsport GmbH, a super sports car which wrote history in its time and today is a coveted collectible with just 453 vehicles having rolled out of the factory gates. The design by Giorgio Giugiaro reflects his supreme mastery of proportions and plays with a number of signature marque details, which often turned out differently on the M1 than was familiar from BMW. The illustrious 3.5 litre inline six-cylinder engine in the four-valve version was pressed into service as the power unit.

This propelled the M1 to the status of fastest and perhaps most sought-after production sports car from Germany for some time. The destiny of this particular example is therefore all the more incredible. Only six years ago, it was discovered in a Sicilian lock-up where it had been stored, forgotten and in obscurity, for more than three decades – enveloped in dust and dirt – but with only 7329 kilometres on the clock. Experts carefully brought this rare find back to life, strictly retaining as much of the original substance as possible.

Entrants 2023Historic Cars
Entrants 2023Concept Cars & Prototypes
Entrants 2023BMW Group
Special Exhibition
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