1980 BMW M1 Procar in Original Condition Heading to Monterey Auction

Certainly one of solely 54 BMW M1 Procars ever constructed will go beneath the hammer throughout Broad Arrow’s Monterey Jet Heart public sale on August 14, 2025. Broad Arrow estimates the automobile will carry between $1.45 million and $1.85 million. Chassis quantity 94301057 is a uncommon survivor. It has by no means been raced, has remained in authentic, as-delivered situation since new, and nonetheless wears its manufacturing unit paint and inside. For a purpose-built competitors automobile, that stage of preservation is extremely uncommon.

BMW Motorsport’s First Floor-Up Creation

By the late Seventies, BMW Motorsport GmbH — established in 1972 — had already constructed a powerful racing résumé. The light-weight BMW 328 had claimed victory on the 1940 Mille Miglia; the BMW 700RS introduced success within the early Nineteen Sixties; and the BMW 2002 and three.0 CSL “Batmobile” turned touring automobile legends. The M1 was totally different. It was the primary automobile solely conceived and engineered by BMW Motorsport, designed to fulfill FIA Group 5 rules and take the struggle to Porsche in worldwide sports activities automobile racing.

Energy got here from the M88/1 3.5-liter DOHC inline-six — a dry-sump, 24-valve engine producing round 470 horsepower in Procar trim and able to revving to 9,000 rpm. Energy was despatched by a ZF five-speed handbook gearbox to the rear wheels. Weighing simply over 2,200 kilos, the Procar-spec M1 may attain practically 190 mph. Brakes had been four-wheel ventilated discs, and suspension was by unequal-length wishbones in any respect 4 corners. In comparison with the road-going M1, the Procar model featured wider observe, aggressive bodywork, built-in air jacks, and racing-specific cooling and exhaust techniques.

The Procar Championship

Manufacturing delays — prompted partly by a failed partnership with Lamborghini — pressured BMW to rethink its racing program. Group 5 homologation required 400 examples for Group 4 competitors earlier than additional improvement. This prompted BMW Motorsport boss Jochen Neerpasch to create a brand new racing sequence to showcase the M1: the BMW M1 Procar Championship.

The Procar sequence ran in 1979 and 1980 as a Formulation One help occasion. The format was distinctive: the 5 quickest F1 drivers in Friday qualifying earned seats in factory-entered Procars for the Saturday race, lining up in opposition to privateer groups.

The racing rapidly turned a fan favourite. Niki Lauda gained the inaugural 1979 championship, with Nelson Piquet taking the 1980 crown. The grids featured a mixture of F1 stars — together with Alan Jones, Jacques Laffite, Clay Regazzoni, and Hans-Joachim Caught — and seasoned sports activities automobile drivers. The vehicles had been equal, the expertise pool was deep, and the racing was usually nearer than the F1 primary occasion.

You’ll be able to hear Neerpasch discuss these previous occasions in our unique video:

Chassis 94301057: From Vasek Polak to Right now

Completed by BMW on Could 9, 1979, chassis 94301057 was ready to Procar specification by Osella in Italy. It was delivered to Vasek Polak, a Czech-born racer and famend Porsche vendor based mostly in Hermosa Seaside, California. Polak’s motorsport profession stretched from pre-war bikes to making ready successful vehicles for Ken Miles, Roger Penske, and Wolfgang von Journeys. His dealership turned a serious Porsche racing hub within the U.S., however he was not solely loyal to Stuttgart — and the M1 Procar represented a chance to compete in a brand new worldwide sequence.

The automobile was shaken down at Riverside Worldwide Raceway for break-in laps and preliminary testing. Nonetheless, FIA rule adjustments ended its eligibility earlier than Polak may enter it in competitors. With no quick outlet for the automobile, he positioned it into storage.

In 1989, the M1 was offered to its second proprietor, nonetheless sporting its authentic, unliveried white paint. The mechanical specification remained untouched: the three.5-liter M88/1 engine, tubular chassis, fiberglass physique panels, and manufacturing unit racing gear had been all intact. The present proprietor acquired the automobile in 2021 and commissioned a service at The Werkshop in 2022. Since then, it has seen solely mild train at personal observe days.

Why This Instance Stands Out

Out of the 54 Procars constructed, many had been raced laborious, crashed, rebuilt, or modified over time. Only a few retain their authentic bodywork, paint, and inside — and even fewer have prevented aggressive use solely. Chassis 94301057 is actually a brand new Procar from 1979. It stays an genuine illustration of how these vehicles left BMW Motorsport’s workshop, proper all the way down to its period-correct mechanical elements.

For collectors, this stage of originality presents a number of alternatives: concours-level preservation, museum show, or sympathetic preparation for classic racing occasions. Given the Procar’s standing as considered one of BMW’s most recognizable racing vehicles — and the one one-make sequence ever to constantly function the highest F1 drivers of its period — its significance is effectively established.

Public sale Particulars:

• Lot: 276
• Date: Thursday, 14 August 2025
• Location: Monterey Jet Heart, Monterey, California
• Estimate: $1,450,000 – $1,850,000

[Source: Broad and Arrow Auctions]