BMW, in the 1970’s wanted to create a super car that would be on a parallel with Ferrari and Porsche. To do this they needed to design and construct a vehicle which would fit in the Group 5 race series.

Homologation rules stated that BMW would also have to build 400 of these cars for road use and so the BMW M1 was born. Sadly however, the BMW M1 race car had a troubled gestation period and its story is now regarded by many as an important lesson on how not to build a supercar.

BMW motorsport department sought the experience of Lamborghini to help them design and construct the car. The end result was a silky, low riding, middle of the engine vehicle. The body work was made by Ital Design. The engine was a 3.5 litre with turbocharger meant to produce horsepower of 850 bhp. These specs were congruent with the Group 5 racing specifications.

Unfortunately Lamborghini was in dire financial circumstances at the time, which meant that the project suffered frequent delays and in the end the whole project had to be moved to the BMW motorsport department in Baur, Germany. However, by the time the M1 was ready to be launched in 1978, two years after its initial conception, Group 5 racing rules had changed meaning that the M1 was no longer practical.

All of the work that was required for the M1 was not wasted because BMW decided to form a race series in which the M1 super car could race. They called it the Procar BMW M1 Championship. It was a great idea since it was a support race for the Formula 1 Championships of the World race. The F1 stars like Ayrton Senna, Nikki Lauda, and Nelson Piquet were pitted against each other in the same vehicle.

Although the race championship was a victory the road version of the BMW M1 did not prove fruitful. The standard trim gave it 277 bhp, with zero to sixty in 5.6 seconds. The top speed produced was 162 miles per hour. Only 456 models of the M1 were created, making it an unusual collection piece for car enthusiasts.

The M1 BMW was a supercar with great performance, making it a legend not only in speed but quality and lower running costs. The twin kidney shaped front grille with the pop up headlamps and black slats on the rear windshield only added to the design.

Despite the lack of success the BMW series had this did not mean certain aspects of the car were not reused later on. The engine was used in the BMW M5. The design was also brought back for a concept car called the M1 Homage.