Page 37 - bmw

Profile BMW M1

A super sports car down to the last detail: the BMW M1
never disguised its racing heritage. It was the only BMW
with two logos on the tailgate.

In the late 1970s, the BMW M1 sports ance in the world of car manufacturing. The rest of the car, with the exception of
car ranked among the fastest of its kind The Porsche 911 and Ford Capri were the engine which naturally had to come
BMW M1 in the world, and to this day it radiates now the chief rivals to be vanquished on from BMW, was to be built at the world-
the race track.
the kind of fascination that turns cars
famous sports car factory of Ferruccio
Once the E 26 project was given the
into classics and makes a mockery of
Lamborghini in close collaboration with
any deliberations on their measurable go-ahead, the problem was how to com- the specialists at BMW Motorsport.
Forthe race track and the road – economic success. previously plete development and production of new M1 had to bear the signature of the
Needless to say, the heart of the
Neerpasch,
Jochen
this all-new model in the time that
a bold experiment. Ford’s successful race manager and remained. Due to insufficient capacity, BMW engineers. A team led by engine
from May of 1972 the managing director BMW was forced to take the risky step specialists Paul Rosche and Martin
of the newly founded BMW Motorsport of commissioning outside companies Braungart were given the task of provid-
The BMW M1 took shape from a brief to build a roadworthy sports racer. During its development and production, GmbH, returned to the task of creating a with crucial construction tasks. An ing the new sports car with a superior
BMW took number of risks, but in the end a car was born which has lost none of its fascination to this day thanks thoroughbred sports racer in 1975. The uncertain adventure was on the cards. In power unit that was suitable not just for
to its engine performance, handling characteristics and highly distinctive design. When production was phased energy crisis and the attendant throt- late 1975, BMW commissioned the the road but above all for the race track
outin February 1981, a total of 456 units had been built, including the racing versions. Above all its involvementin tling of both engine power and advertis- ItalDesign company, whose design chief as well. In the end, it was decided to
the Procar Series racing events, specially designed for the M1, will remain unforgotten. ing activity was almost forgotten, and was Giorgetto Giugiaro, with creating a upgrade the new 3.5-litre six-cylinder
there was a new explosion of perform- body for the intended super sports car. engine as used in the 635CSi Coupé.

Page 36 Mobile Tradition live / 75 Years of BMW Automobiles Special Page 37