Vehicle Description
1980 BMW M1
VIN: WBS59910004301140
The BMW M1 was the first production car from BMW Motorsport. Clad
in Italian bodywork by Giorgetto Giugiaro, and built by German
specialty coachmaker Baur, this example of the E26 was imported
into the US on March 27, 1980. DOT compliance testing soon followed
in Los Angeles on May 25, 1980, where it passed with flying
colors.
Its first owner was Kenneth Lloyds of Key Biscayne FL, who owned
the car until 1986 when it was purchased by David Coffin of
Sunapee, NH with only 8,778 km (5,454 miles) on odometer. Coffin, a
car aficionado and collector, used the car sparingly for the next
ten years. In 1996 the car moved on to a new owner, Robert Greene
of Santa Cruz, CA with 12,162 km (7,557 miles) on odometer.
Knowing the collectable value of his M1, Greene put the car away in
storage, only taking it out to have it inspected and smogged. The
result of this careful preservation was that in 2012 this E26 had
only 12,237 km (7604 miles).
The M1 has spent the last three years in the private collection of
a BMW dealer in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and has covered only 800
miles since 2012.
Designed by one of the world's greatest automotive stylists, and
built by hand, this amazing low mileage car is a clear window into
a unique period of automotive history. This M1 comes with its
tools, manuals, spare and jack. Like all the automobiles at Canepa,
it's been thoroughly assessed and detailed, both cosmetically and
mechanically, to ensure it meets and exceeds the expectations of
collectors that drive their cars.
About the M1
The M1 is an iconic sports car, and launched BMW's "M" motorsports
division. BMW hand built just 453 M1s, making it one of their
rarest models. Of those, only 399 were built for the street. The
rest were destined for racing. The M1 was a mid-engine supercar.
Its 3.5 liter four valve, twin-cam inline six was good for 277
horsepower and 239 lb-ft of torque. The performance and handling
were impressive, especially at speed. The handsome Giorgetto
Giugiaro design successfully blended Teutonic and Italian machismo
in a style that, 30 years later, still looks surprisingly
current.
The E26 M1 project was approved by BMW AG in 1976 under the
condition that it would not interfere with the production of any
other BMW model. The M1 was developed to show that BMW was a
legitimate manufacturer of sports cars that could compete with
Porsche and Ferrari on the street, and to offer a purpose-built
machine that could participate competitively in the Group 4 and
Group 5 racing series.
BMW Motorsport initially contracted Lamborghini to assemble the
cars with engines produced and shipped from Germany. However,
severe financial troubles at Lamborghini forced BMW to terminate
their agreement with the Italian supercar maker. Thus, the
production examples of the E26 M1 were partially assembled at Ital
Design in Turin using fiberglass bodywork supplied by T.I.R and
tubular spaceframes supplied by Marchesi. Final assembly was then
conducted at the Baur coachworks in Stuttgart, Germany. Each M1 was
then given a final inspection at the BMW Motorsport facility in
Munich before being delivered to its owner.
There are many conflicting production numbers regarding the E26 M1.
The official BMW production figures show that 453 examples were
produced in a three-year period between July 1978 and July 1981. Of
these, between 54 were competition versions, while the remaining
399 examples constitute the road-going street cars. It is thought
that the final street-legal M1 (non-Procar) was produced in
February 1981.
Odometer at 13590 Kilometers = 8444 miles
