
In the late 1970s, BMW decided to maximise its chances and dip its toes into the grand unknown of racing. It was the era of Ford, which emerged not as a market contender but rather as a market leader. Their linchpin? A German engineer named Jochen Neerspasch. So, the Bavarian-based company decided to take back what was theirs and brought over countryman Neerspasch to their side.
Jochen Neerspasch spearheaded a one-make series for the newly termed motorsport cars. As the head of a brand new semi-independent subsidiary, BMW Motorsport GmbH, Neerspasch sought to make a car fit for motorsport racing from the ground up to compete with Porsche.
BMW wanted to take the industry by storm and decided to work their way down from a race car to a road car. At the time, most touring cars were upgraded versions of the road make. BMW decided to flip the narrative and began designing a race car instead. Alongside, they harboured a budding interest in Formula 1, a sport slowly gaining popularity. The plan was straightforward but required colossal effort: they would manufacture a V8 engine for F1 teams, fit the F1 engine onto their motorsport and touring cars, and then manufacture a road version of the touring cars—an idea ambitious in theory and riddled with setbacks in its execution.
The task was relegated to Lamborghini but soon backtracked. Lamborghini suffered financially, dealing with allegations of embezzlement and fund misappropriation. It soon became evident that putting F1 parts on a touring car would never work for fiscal and regulation reasons. So, BMW decided to switch gears.
BMW doubled down on its contract with Lamborghini, more specifically with Giampaolo Dallara and his ingenious mid-engine concept. A new car named the E26/1 was designed. Again, the car would have three versions: a Group 4 version, a Group 5 version, and a road version.
The car was the first of its kind designed by BMW Motorsport, and so the name M1 was born.
However, the production posed a new set of challenges. In Neerspasch’s own words, “We could not start racing the M1 when we had planned to because we could not produce enough cars in time for the homologation date in Group 4. And without a racing program, we knew it would be hard selling the road M1s.”
BMW now had a racing car design on its hands but, ironically, could not go racing.
In July 1978, BMW made a surprise announcement: a one-make racing series. Neerspasch met with Max Mosley at a bar where they discussed the idea of Formula 2, a series where each competitor drove with the same chassis, engine and aerodynamics. The idea was fitted onto the BMW M1 prototype, and Bernie Ecclestone was approached for a BMW M1 Procar Championship.
The pitch? The top 5 qualifiers from each Formula 1 race would drive and compete in M1s. The racing circuit was opened to privateers, fifteen to be exact.
This, however, posed another significant challenge: money.
Neerspasch explained, “It was a difficult operation for us because it was expensive. Don’t forget, we had to convince private teams that they needed to buy an M1 Procar from us to race it in this new, unproven one-make series.”
At the same time, getting 20 cars race-ready was a daunting task. But despite its challenges, the series made its debut in 1979. The series’ saving grace was its star-studded line-up. The inaugural season was won by Formula 1 legend Niki Lauda. The following season, another Formula 1 contemporary, Nelson Piquet.
However, after the 1980 season, the project came to an abrupt halt. It seemed BMW’s woes had finally caught up with it. BMW Motorsport’s budget was slashed, and the company focused all its resources on Formula 1. The Procar was sold off to BS Fabrications, headed by Bernie Ecclestone. Ecclestone was also head of Brabham, to whom BMW promised to be an F1 engine supplier.
Production for the M1 stopped in 1980, with only 430 cars of its kind. According to Neerspasch, who once referred to the M1 as his “life’s work”, “The M1s were sold off and would show up at Le Mans and in IMSA, among others.”
Soon, Neerspasch left the venture and the M1 concept was abandoned.
Despite its limited numbers and scarce appearances, the M1 remains an integral part of a rich sporting history for BMW. The short-lived Procar and its synonymous Championship are an anomaly in the company’s storied wins across numerous racing formats.
When the project began, Neerspasch’s visionary wondered whether it could be to BMW what the 911 was to Porsche. Unfortunately, to this day, we are left wondering, “What if?”.
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