BMW M1 (E26) Procar 1979

More often than not, 'homologation specials' have gone into history as the finest road cars of their era. A great example is the BMW M1, introduced at the 1978 Paris Motorshow as the German company's latest GT racing weapon. Problem was that before the M1 could race in the intended Group 5 class, 400 road cars had to be built and sold. It would go a little far to describe these as street legal racing cars, but they offered supercar equaling performance. Today, thirty years after the M1 was first shown to the public, it is considered one of the most legendary BMWs ever built, but its conception, construction and racing career were far from trouble free.

The M1 was very much the brainchild of BMW Motorsport's found Jochen Neerpasch. In 1976 he decided to start with a clean sheet for the replacement of the highly successful, but aging 3.0 CSL racing car. He had set its sights on the world manufacturer championship, which was held for the Group 5 class. The rules dictated a 400-car production minimum, but other than that were pretty liberal as to what modifications could be carried through. Taking full advantage of the clean sheet, Neerpasch laid out a mid-engined two-seater, to be powered by a 3-litre V10 engine. He expected the car to be highly competitive on the track and in addition help BMW to enter the elite group of supercar manufacturers.

One of the first problems that Neerpasch had to tackle was BMW's inexperience with designing and building a mid-engined supercar. So he called in the help of the much more experienced Italians. Giorgietto Giugiaro's Italdesign was commissioned to design the exterior, while Lamborghini was given the responsibility to construct the car. Giugiaro masterfully combined elements from the Paul Bracq penned BMW Turbo Concept of 1972 with his familiar wedge shape design. The end result was a feast for the eys and even today looks remarkably modern, especially compared to other supercars of the day, like Lamborghini's Countach.

The Italdesign labeled fiberglass body covered a state-of-the-art spaceframe chassis, constructed from square section tubes. The fully independent suspension and vented discs all followed the latest design trends. Unfortunately the V10 idea was binned as being too complicated and above all to expensive to design and develop in time. Instead the M1 was equipped with the familiar straight six out of the 3.0 CSL racing cars. Displacing just under 3.5 litres, it produced a hefty 277 bhp in road tune. Mated to a five speed gearbox, the 24-valve engine was mounted midships between the passenger compartment and the rear axle.

The reception of the M1 in Paris was overwhelming and the gathered media could not wait to get their hands on BMW's first supercar. Wait is exactly what they had to do and at one point it looked like their patience would be tested indefinitely. After constructing just four cars, Lamborghini's future was threatened by a looming bankruptcy and the M1 had little priority. Fortunately all was not lost as Giugiaro jumped in and offered BMW to build the M1 instead. BMW agreed and the construction finally got underway. Before being delivered to a customer, the M1 had traveled from Giugiaro's small factory in Turin, to Baur in Stuttgart where the mechanicals were mated to the body and finally to Munich, where the often many quality issues were ironed out.

Even though production was now under way, the delays had scared off possible customers, which meant that the homologation requirement of 400 sold cars was hard to meet. Neerpasch nevertheless had the Motorsport department prepare a number of racing cars for the 1979 season. He had thought up of an excellent series to race the cars until they were fully homologated; Procar. This one make championship supported the Formula 1 rounds. In addition to the privateer entrants, BMW prepared six cars for the top-six qualifiers of the Grand Prix. With the exception of those contracted by Ferrari and Renault, the drivers were more than happy to participate.

The Procar series thus offered the crowds the opportunity to see their favourite drivers active in more than one race over the weekend. The races were often very spectacular and involved quite a bit more close action than most Grands Prix. Niki Lauda was crowned champion in 1979 and he was followed by Nelson Piquet in 1980. For various reasons, many of them political, the M1 Procar championship was not run again. By this time the competition cars were fully homologated and scored some great results. Unfortunately they faced the virtual unbeatable Porsche 935 K3s. The biggest success came in 1981 when David Cowart Kenper Miller drove their Red Lobster sponsored M1 to the IMSA GTO Championship.

Eventually Giugiaro/Baur/BMW produced 457 M1s, including all the racing cars. Financially the M1 was certainly not a success and the racing record, especially for a BMW, is not overly convincing either. If Neerpasch had not come up with the Procar championship, the M1 would have been a complete disaster. Well maybe not, actually most certainly not; the M1 is a superb machine both to look and also to drive. For us enthusiasts that is all that matters and after trying to forget about the M1 for several years, BMW have come around to appreciate the M1 for what it is. That is best illustrated by the big celebrations of the car's 30th anniversary, highlighted by the M1 Hommage Concept and a Procar Revival race held before the German Grand Prix, which was appropriately won by Niki Lauda.

[SIZE=1]Source: UCP[/SIZE]

[I]M1 at Goodwood Festival of Speed 2002.[/I]

BMW M1 Pro Car

BMW M1 Pro Car #2

BMW M1 Pro Car #3

Great pics once again

Mmmmmmmmmn....M1....*drools*

Great pics once again Matt! :)

What can I say? UCP's hi-res hero justifying it's title... :D
This car means soo much to BMW lovers....

The M1 was a very awesome car for its time. And its Pro Car is no exception. I have never seen the "famous" white M1 Pro Car with the traditional BMW red, white, and blue checkered paintjob on the side and hood though.

I have seen an Orange M1, belonging to John Roberts who if you live in North Texas or has been there would know that man is.

This car is nice! I should research it some more.

Designed and powered by BMW, built by Lambo until they went bust, then.. I can't remember who made it afterwards. A total failure from it's original inception, which was to race against Porsches, but the rules changed. Top Gear did a feature on it once, it's not hard to find. Ep from 2nd Nov 2003.

Does anyone have pics of BMW M1 Gr.5 ? thanks in advance.

or does anybody have pics of the rally version of the M1

[B]BMW M1 Rally version[/B]

one more pic

Nice car ;)

Looks awesome!

BMW M1 Pro Car #4

BMW M1 Procar #7

Yes the car is there... somewhere... :p

BMW M1 Pro Car #8

That 3rd photo is amazing.

[QUOTE=McReis;695829]That 3rd photo is amazing.[/QUOTE]
It is indeed... :eek:

A bit higher resolution. :)

[QUOTE=Sauc3;696277]A bit higher resolution. :)[/QUOTE]

Thanks, Sauc3 :)

[QUOTE=Sauc3;696277]A bit higher resolution. :)[/QUOTE]
This was in the Monza round of the European Le Mans series, wasn't it?

And thank you. :)

some new M1 Pro Car goodness was released:

As part of the 30th anniversary celebrations of its birth, the BMW M1 super sports car will make a return to the race track during the 2008 German Grand Prix. On 19th and 20th July the BMW M1 Procar Revival at the Hockenheimring will see ten of these impressive cars taking part in two demonstration races.

The event is planned as homage to the popular Procar Series, which attracted massive public interest when it appeared on the support programmes of Formula One Grands Prix in 1979 and 1980. Here world class drivers met old hands and newcomers - each determined to prove their prowess in identical BMW M1 Procar racing cars. Little wonder, then, the Procar events were followed as enthusiastically as the Formula One races of the day.

World famous drivers in the BMW M1.
What applied 30 years ago will apply during the revival at Hockenheim: renowned drivers will prove their skill behind the steering wheels of 470 bhp BMW M1 Procars. Six-time Grand Prix winner Jacques Laffite is particularly relishing his return to a BMW M1 cockpit. Former Formula One drivers such as Marc Surer and Christian Danner will also be present, as will BMW Brand Ambassador Prince Leopold of Bavaria, and veterans Dieter Quester and Harald Grohs.

BMW M1 Art Car in action.
The tenth car there to thrill the spectators at the classic Hockenheim circuit is the BMW M1 Art Car. Pop artist Any Warhol converted this vehicle into an artwork on four wheels. It will be the first time since the 1979 Le Mans 24 Hour Endurance Race this evocative car will be seen in action on a race track.

Jochen Neerpasch, who was then chief of BMW Motorsport GmbH and thus responsible for initiating the Procar Series together with Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley, will be in the BMW M1 Art Car for both demonstration races.

BMW M1 Pro Car #10

BMW M1 Pro Car #11

BMW M1 Pro Car #12

The art car looks hideous.

Thanks Gt1Street those photos are nectar.

[QUOTE=Zytek_Fan;820587]The art car looks hideous.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I would give it a new livery as well.

But the other pictures are awesome at least!

BMW M1 Procar #13

why there are nearly no pics of PROCAR 1980?

M Procar #14

a new kid on the block, at least for me, in Spa last May.