RE: BMW M1 | Showpiece of the Week

[Mabbs9]

Wheel design carried over to the i3. Kind of.

Lovely car, the M1 that is.

[lotuslover69]

thegreenhell said:

Wasn't the production delay that meant they missed the homologation deadline caused by Lamborghini? They were originally contracted to build them, because of their prior experience building limited run mid-engined cars, but the finished output wasn't up to the standards expected by the Germans, so they had to find another subcontractor to do the job.

What happened was Lamborghini spent all the money they received on stuff other than the development of the car and then went bankrupt, People from BMW had to rush to the Lamborghini factory too recover what little had been done on the M1 before it was all liquidated.

Similarly but not exactly the same, Honda approached Lotus with the idea of having them run their new race engine, however Chapman considered the engine to be a complete mess which it was and did absolutely nothing with the engine and strung Honda a long for months. He used the Honda Lotus relationship to persuade cosworth to build their new engine. In the end chapman got what he wanted and Honda were furious and ended up giving the engines to Brabham.

[V8muscle]

These cars were great when the M1 Procar series followed the F1 circuit. Plenty of money was flashed at the drivers and it attracted all the top drivers of the day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ucgc1QZYr4

[mfp4073]

I always thought that the M1 was a lovely looking thing, it has indeed stood the test of time.
Just imagine if BWM were to build it again today, only updated.....lots of computer screens...a massive Bugs Bunny grill, ah yes......the elegance of it all.

[daveco]

Funk said:

With Audi having had great success with the R8 over the years, why haven't BMW had a proper sports car in a similar vein as a 'successor' of sorts to the M1?

I think it's partly down to the R8 being such a good car in the first place.

I cannot believe how low the values of the original R8 have gotten, specifically manual V8 models.

I would have one in a heartbeat over similar vintage 911, AMs, etc

[morgs_]

I wasn't around when they first came out but I still have very fond memories of the LeMans Classic at which they first became eligible to compete (09?).

Watching from above the pits as vast amounts of them blasted up towards the Dunlop bridge, sun setting and flames galore, is one of my favourite petrolhead memories.

[British Beef]

Sandpit Steve said:

Imagine the F1 drivers lining up on Sunday morning, all in the same car for a sprint race? Preferably in something naturally aspirated with a manual ‘box - Cayman GT4? Bonus points for a reverse grid based on the actual F1 race to come.

That would be terrific, it would definitely get me watching it again, maybe not the F1, just the sprint race!!

[coppice]

V8muscle said:

These cars were great when the M1 Procar series followed the F1 circuit. Plenty of money was flashed at the drivers and it attracted all the top drivers of the day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ucgc1QZYr4

With the exception , sadly , of Gilles Villeneuve. Fiat (who owned Ferrari ) objected to their man being seen in a BMW .

[iiievolution]

In the main dealership in Cyprus there are two white ones on display. One of them is with delivery miles. In fact the pre delivery inspection has never been done on this one. Probably the highest value one out there.

[E30M3ZONE]

morgs_ said:

I wasn't around when they first came out but I still have very fond memories of the LeMans Classic at which they first became eligible to compete (09?).

Watching from above the pits as vast amounts of them blasted up towards the Dunlop bridge, sun setting and flames galore, is one of my favourite petrolhead memories.

....and through Tertre Rouge at dusk