To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION WITHOUT RESERVEEstimate:
$600,000 - $800,000
- One of the all-time great supercars
- The 36th of 54 Procars built; one of 453 total examples
built
- Raced in the 1981 IMSA GTO Championship by Al Unser Jr, the
legendary future two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, two-time
CART champion, and 1984 Can-Am champion
- Eight podium finishes during the 1981-82 IMSA GTO Championship
seasons
- Comprehensive three-year restoration completed by Graber
Sportgarage in 2009
- Years of documented race preparation and technical support by
Graber Sportgarage
- Campaigned in numerous vintage racing events in Europe,
including the Le Mans Classic, Spa Classic, Monza Historic, and Dix
Milles Tours du Castellet
- Documented with FIA Historic Technical Passport, restoration
invoices and photos, maintenance invoices, technical diagrams, and
dyno sheets
- The pinnacle of BMW speed machines
BMW M1: A TRIUMPH OF FORM AND FUNCTION
The BMW M1 holds a special fascination for supercar aficionados and
BMW enthusiasts alike, being the first of the celebrated M models
as well as the Bavarian company's first mid-engine supercar. The M1
was born of BMW Motorsports boss Jochen Neerpasch's obsession with
beating Porsche, which during the 1970s had almost uniformly
outdone Munich's otherwise very successful racing coupes.
By 1978 Neerpasch believed the time had come to engineer a Group 5
racecar from the ground up, with a mid-engine design that could
eclipse the mighty 934 and 935 models coming from Stuttgart.
Lamborghini's Gianpaolo Dallara was tasked with developing a new
tubular steel spaceframe onto which was bolted lightweight
fiberglass coachwork penned by Italdesign's Giorgetto Giugiaro. The
Italian-designed vehicle then received a wholly Teutonic
powerplant: a new inline six-cylinder racing engine from BMW
Motorsports. The first purpose-developed engine by the company's
now legendary M division, the new M88 motor featured four valves
per cylinder actuated via dual-camshafts, and six individual
throttle bodies. The stout engine generated 273 hp and was mated to
a ZF five-speed manual gearbox that delivered power to the rear
wheels, governed by a 40 percent limited-slip differential.
A triumph of both form and function, the BMW M1 unfortunately never
fully achieved Neerpasch's vision due only to the fact that Group 5
regulations shifted to eliminate the car's eligibility. Prototypes
developed in 1978 were nevertheless approved for a homologated
production run with sights set on Group 4 racing, and ultimately
453 cars were built in total.
Not to be outdone by the FIA, Neerpasch conceived a novel
application for the M1 over a round of cocktails with Max Mosely,
the former British racing driver and March team principle who held
a position with the Formula 1 Constructor's Association. The two
friends envisioned a single-make introductory series to European
Formula 1 races in which the top five qualifying drivers would race
BMW M1 competition cars against a field of top sports and touring
car drivers.
BMW approved the build of 25 cars specifically for this new series,
which was dubbed Procar. These cars featured improvements over the
original M1 that included a more developed engine (lifting power to
470 hp), as well as coachwork modifications for aerodynamic
enhancement such as larger flared wheel arches, a deeper front
splitter, and a large rear wing. By the conclusion of production in
1981, 54 examples of the race-engineered M1 Procar had been built,
and they remain the cream of the crop of Munich's renowned
supercar.
While other marques have their own fabled halo racing cars, Ferrari
with its F40 LM, Mercedes-Benz's CLK GTR, and the Porsche GT1, the
M1 Procar inarguably fits into the conversation as BMW's very own
halo model. With its beautiful wedge design, one which even
inspired legendary artist Andy Warhol to put his mark on the most
famous BMW art car; to its legendary performance, proven in
competition and admired by all, the M1 is the crowning achievement
of the marque, and one that they have yet to replicate. The BMW M1
is an understated supercar and in Procar form, it is truly the
ultimate driving machine.
CHASSIS NUMBER 1195: A RECOGNIZED CONTENDER
Chassis number 1195, the 36th M1 Procar built, was ordered new by
American driver Joe Crevier for use in the IMSA GTO Championship.
For his driving partner Crevier recruited the famed Al Unser Jr,
the future two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, two-time CART
champion, and 1984 Can-Am champ whose career was just beginning.
Wearing #67, the M1 debuted at the 6-Hour Toyota Grand Prix at
Riverside, California, in April 1981, finishing a promising 3rd in
class, and 11th overall. Unser Jr's results at the following race,
the Monterey Triple Crown at Laguna Seca, were even better, as the
M1 roared to a 2nd-in-class finish. Results over the remainder of
the season were similarly respectable, as the BMW completed the
11-race calendar with five podium finishes (including another 2nd
in class, and two more 3rd-in-class finishes).
Crevier returned 1195 to IMSA action in 1982 but the M1
understandably began to pale in the face of newer competition, and
after three podium finishes in seven races through May, the car was
retired. In 1983 he sold the BMW to Don Walker of Dallas
Motorsport, who continued to run the car in IMSA GTO races. In 1987
Walker sold the M1 to Franco Sbarro of Switzerland, the ex-Scuderia
Filipinetti mechanic who had founded his own respected coachworks
and modification concern, Atelier de Construction Automobile.
Sbarro retained possession of the BMW for 13 years, after which it
was acquired in 2000 by a Ferrari and Alfa Romeo specialist based
in Norway.
In 2006 the M1 returned to Switzerland when purchased by Graber
Sportgarage, the descendent company of the prewar coachbuilder of
the same name, which was known for clothing Bentley, Bugatti, and
Alvis chassis. As illustrated by numerous invoices, Graber
conducted a comprehensive three-year restoration of the Procar that
addressed all mechanical and cosmetic aspects.
In 2009 the BMW was sold to Swiss enthusiast Pedro Mello-Breyner,
and he ran the car in several vintage events, including the 2010 Le
Mans Classic, the 2010 Silverstone 1000 KM support race, and the
2011 Spa Classic. Three years later the M1 passed to a European
collector, who continued to campaign the car in Classic Endurance
Racing series events such as the 2015 Monza Historic and the 2017
Spa Classic. Additional appearances included three Dix Milles Tours
du Castellet, with noted racing driver Sam Hancock behind the
wheel. Invoices on file illustrate continued attention by Graber
Sportgarage from 2015 through 2019 that included significant race
preparation and support.
The FIA issued a Historic Technical Passport for 1195 in 2017,
making the car eligible for some of the most noted vintage racing
events worldwide, including both European venues like the Le Mans
Classic and at American circuits such as Daytona and Sebring.
Documented with invoices from Graber that illustrate great care and
investment in the car, as well as technical diagrams and dyno
sheets, this BMW M1 Procar is an amazingly maintained and presented
example. Ideal for any marque enthusiast, 1195 offers continued
racing thrills in one of Munich's most celebrated speed machines
and may be proudly exhibited at important competition and concours
events worldwide.
Please note that an import duty of 2.5% of the purchase price is
payable on this lot if the buyer is a resident of the ...for more
information please contact the seller.