A particular automobile from a particular racing sequence
In 1978, BMW launched the M1, a supercar typically considered the origin story of the model’s M-series automobiles. Nevertheless, in contrast to the M2s, M3s, M4s, M5s, and different miscellaneous M-sport automobiles pushed by in the present day’s BMW sellers, simply 456 road-going M1s have been ever constructed and bought to clients as homologation specials.
Initially, BMW developed the mid-engined M1 supercar as a way to compete within the Group 4 and Group 5 classes of sports activities automobile racing. Nevertheless, when homologation rule adjustments threatened to derail these plans, BMW Motorsport chief Jochen Neerpasch got here up with a present that grew to become considered one of motorsport’s most memorable spectacles. The outcome was the BMW M1 Procar sequence, a single-make championship that includes equivalent M1 race automobiles pushed by Formulation 1 stars competing immediately in opposition to drivers from the World Sportscar Championship, European Touring Automotive Championship, and different worldwide sequence.
These races served as assist occasions throughout European F1 Grand Prix weekends in 1979 and 1980, bringing large publicity and star energy to the in any other case area of interest sequence. This type of publicity, in essence, killed two birds with one stone: it showcased BMW’s new supercar on a grand stage, whereas giving BMW time to work out its homologation necessities.
Essentially the most notable a part of this sequence was that Neerpasch received Formulation One’s governing physique and crew principals on board to lend F1’s greatest names. This meant that legends like Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet, Alan Jones, and Clay Regazzoni delivered intense wheel-to-wheel motion earlier than the celebs went on to tear up the racetrack of their F1 automobiles on race weekends.
Mecum Auctions
The champion’s M1
This particular BMW M1, headed to the auction block at Mecum’s Kissimmee auction on January 17, 2026, has an unbelievable provenance, because it was the “trophy automobile” awarded to none aside from Niki Lauda, the winner of the inaugural BMW M1 Procar Championship in 1979.
Completed in vivid white, this BMW options some particular Procar-themed touches that inherently replicate the period and the racing sequence that gave beginning to this automobile. This M1 options hand-painted BMW M tri-color stripes signed by the famend Walter Maurer, the German artist recognized for his participation within the BMW Artwork Automotive sequence.
As well as, Lauda’s M1 additionally sports activities some Procar-style touches that replicate the very car he took to victory on the streets of Monaco and the curves and corners of Silverstone and Monza, together with a particular Procar-style entrance bumper sporting a proper-sized air dam, rear louvers over the rear glass, and a white, staggered set of 16-inch Campagnolo wheels that match the physique.
Mecum Auctions
Underneath the hood is a road-going model of the three.5L M88/1 inline-six engine developed by BMW Motorsport for this automobile. It encompasses a Bosch Motronic gasoline injection system, particular person throttle our bodies, and a Magneti-Marelli ignition system. The engine produced a whopping 266 HP and 243 lb-ft of torque, all of which was transmitted by a ZF 5-speed handbook transmission, reaching a purported prime pace of 165 mph.
Although the supercar is styled as a duplicate of a real racecar, BMW’s luxurious facet stands out within the M1’s inside. Lauda’s experience encompasses a cabin upholstered totally in blue leather-based, in addition to a smattering of period-correct luxurious options, together with energy home windows, air-con, and a Becker Europa stereo.
In response to the itemizing, this M1 was imported to the USA in 1987 and was proven on the 2017 Hillsborough Concours d’Class in California. Moreover, it has 20,350 kilometers (~12,650 miles) on the clock and a extremely detailed undercarriage.
Remaining Ideas
Mecum says the Lauda BMW M1 will cross the public sale block on Saturday, January seventeenth, on the Kissimmee public sale and is estimated to fetch between $625,000 and $675,000.
Given this automobile’s provenance and the unbelievable backstory behind its existence, this isn’t solely a possibility to personal a relic of a Formulation 1 legend but in addition half of a bigger story that cemented a model beloved by fans all around the world. In any case, Niki needed to earn this BMW M1 by showcasing the type of racing that earned him three world championships in a car completely different from the F1 machines that cemented his legacy.
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