The M models of the Bavarian car maker are legendary for sports fans worldwide, with CP are also plenty of followers around the M-granddaddy owned everything in the Top 10 to vote.
Donor form of the M1 is a prototype called “BWM Turbo“ from the year 1972, a feasibility study for vehicle safety. Four years later, was started in St. Agatha in Italy the development. Italy? Read correctly, Lamborghini and the designer Giorgio Giugiaro directed by BMW took over the drafting of the vehicle. Problems with the manufacturer of the bull in its logo, however, forced the Bavarians from a home visit and a night-and-dagger operation was carted all the documents and parts to Munich. For the completion of the development was at BMW’s “BMW Motorsport GmbH founded”, which has since been involved in the particularly sporty cars of the AG. The real reason for the construction of the M1 was the planned use in international motorsport.
M1 was a sports car that was produced by German automaker BMW from 1978 to 1981. In the late 1970s, Italian manufacturer Lamborghini entered into an agreement with BMW to build a production racing car in sufficient quantity for homologation.
The result was sold to the public, from 1978 to 1981, as the BMW M1. It was the only mid-engined BMW to be mass produced. It employed a twin-cam M88/1 3.5 L 6-cylinder petrol engine with Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection. A version of this motor was later used in the South African version of the BMW 735i, of which 209 examples were built between 1984 and 1986, as well as the E24 BMW M6/M635CSi and E28 BMW M5. The engine had six separate throttle butterflies, four valves per cylinder and produced 277 PS (204 kW; 273 hp) in the street version, giving a top speed of 260 km/h (160 mph).
Turbocharged racing versions were capable of producing around 850 hp (634 kW).
The
M1 coupe was hand-built between 1978 and 1981 under the Motorsport
division of BMW as a homologation special for sports car racing. The
body was designed by Giugiaro, taking inspiration from the 1972 BMW
Turbo show car. Originally, BMW commissioned Lamborghini to work out
the details of the car's chassis, assemble prototypes and manufacture
the vehicles, but Lamborghini's financial position meant that BMW
reassumed control over the project in April 1978, after seven
prototypes were built. Only 456 production M1s were built, making it one
of BMW's rarest models. The spirit of the M1 lived on in the M635Csi
and the first-generation M5, which shared the same (though slightly
modified) engine
