EXOTIC RACING SERIES CAR OF THE DAY: BMW M1

Submitted by Kirk Pedersen on Tue, 2010-03-16 07:43

Taking inspiration from the 1972 BMW Turbo concept car, M1 – the very first car in BMW’s now-famous ‘M’ line – was first made available to the public in 1978.The car was a joint-venture between Lamborg hini and BMW with the common goal of building a production racecar in enough volume for homologation. Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, founder of Italdesign who also devised the Lotus Esprit S1, DeLorean DMC-12 and Subaru SVX among many others, M1’s design was futuristic for the times. Lamborghini was struggling financially as M1 was in development, so BMW moved assembly to Baur, the German convertible builders in Stuttgart, which assembled each M1 by hand.  Once M1 finished production in 1981, 456 examples of the vehicle were built, with 56 of those race-only models. Under its hood sits a 3.5-liter inline-six with fuel injection that has 277 horsepower from the factory, running 0-60 in just 5.5 seconds, no doubt aided by its smooth 5-speed ZF manual. Its engine was used in later 5, 6 and 7-series BMWs and has a top speed of 163 mph. Weighing in at less than 3,000 pounds, M1’s performance was greatly helped by its trim figure, owing to its fiberglass construction. In motorsports, M1 was successful, winning the FIA Group B championship in 1984 and even having its own circuit, Procar, which ran heavily-modified M1s in 1979 and 1980. This is the model featured in SHIFT. Easily recognizable from the rear due to its mid-engine set-up – the only BMW ever built to have a mid-engine configuration - and black plastic louvers over the boot, as well as its unusual 16-inch Campagnolo alloy wheels. At the time of its release to the public, M1 was one of the most expensive cars on the planet, priced at $53,000. Today, you won’t be able to find any M1 for that price, as recent auctions have placed their value in the six-figure range.   But the good news is you can get one for much less with the Need for Speed SHIFT's Exotic Racing Series, available this Thursday.

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