Three-quarters front view of a Red, 1980, BMW M1, on display at the 2021, London Classic Car Show, Syon Park
The BMW M1 (model code E26) is a mid-engined sports car produced by German automotive manufacturer BMW from 1978 to 1981. In the late 1970s, Italian automobile manufacturer Lamborghini entered into an agreement with BMW to build a production racing car in sufficient quantity for homologation, but conflicts arose that prompted BMW to produce the car themselves. The resulting car was sold to the public, from 1978 to 1981, as the BMW M1. It is the first mid-engine BMW automobile to be mass-produced; the second is the i8 plug-in hybrid sports car. Motorsport division of BMW headed by Jochen Neerpasch had been wanting to compete in motorsports using a car developed for competition racing in order to compete with arch rival Porsche in Group-5 racing, thus the development of the M1 was initiated. Neerpasch, who was head of the development program stressed that the car was to be strictly mid-engine in order to outclass its competitors. As BMW wasn't able to build 400 road going examples of the car in the required time period as stipulated by the rules, the company partnered with Lamborghini to work out the details of the car's chassis, assemble prototypes and manufacture the vehicles. The tubular steel space frame chassis was the work of Gianpaolo Dallara but soon Lamborghini's financial position and the possibility of the car's production by the Italian manufacturer became bleak and BMW reassumed control over the project in April 1978, after seven prototypes were built. The delay in production and the changes in Group 5 rules forced the company to compete in Group 4 racing with the car.[4] The M1 coupé was hand-built between 1978 and 1981 under the motorsport division of BMW as a homologation special for sports car racing. The fibre glass body was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, taking inspiration from the 1972 BMW Turbo concept car. Since the engineering of the car was still incomplete, a group of former Lamborghini engineers had founded a company named Italengineering
Size: 5569px × 3013px
Location: Syon Park, Brentford, Middx TW8 8JF
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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