BMW is well known for its sports and luxury cars. If you are looking for a new or young sporty BMW, you have got plenty of choice. You can think of, for example, the BMW Z3, Z8, Z4, a sporty 3-, 5- and 6-series and the M versions thereof. But if you are interested in a classic sports car made by the Munich factory, your choise is fare more limited. One of the rare (and perhaps more interesting) cars you could buy is the BMW M1. This is for several reasons an interesting car.
Let’s start with two general factors that affect the demand for classic cars. The first one is the image of the factory. Classic cars made by factories that now well known manufacturing sporty and/or exclusive cars are popular among enthusiasts. The image of the factory shines on the classics. The second factor is that the buyers of a modern sports car may also be interested in a classic sports car of the same make. BMW scores well on both counts. The factory has a strong image, is active in the sporty and the higher market segments and also sells cars in large numbers. One could therefore conclude that there should also be a lot of interest in the classic cars made by BMW.
But then there appears to be a problem. Until some 30 years ago, BMW has not produced many special cars. If you are interested in a special post-war classic car made by this German factory, you have only the choice out of a few models. In the 1950s the factory made the BMW 503 Coupe and Convertible and the 507 Roadster. In the second half of the 1950s and in the 1960s the factory survived thanks to the production of smaller models. In the 1970s BMW got back on their feet. In this time the 2002 Turbo and 3.0 CSL appeared. Both were faster versions of standard models. Later faster and special models such as the M3 and M5 had the body of a normal 3- and 5-series as a base. The BMW M1 on the contrary, was a specially designed model.
When BMW laid its new foundation as a manufacturer of fast and luxurious cars in the 1970s, the factory entered the market in which Mercedes-Benz was active. With the development of a special sports car, the factory wanted a to release a successor of the 3.0 CSL. The idea was to develop a car that would enable BMW to compete with Porsche in Group 4 and Group 5. To take part in racing, BMW had to make at least 400 cars. The M1 was developed by Lamborghini and the bodywork was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro. Due to financial problems at Lamborghini the project delayed. Meanwhile, the FIA changed the contest regulations, whereby the M1 end up not to be taking part in the aimed races. Instead, the M1 racing cars participated in Procar races in 1979 and 1980. The BMW M1 was not developed as a sports car, from which a race version was derived. The Executive Board of BMW had a racing car built, from which a tamed version for use on the street was derived.
In performance and in price, the BMW M1 competed with cars such as the Ferrari 512 BB and the Porsche 911 Turbo 3.3. The BMW inline six had a content of 3453 cc and a power output of 277 bhp. The M1 achieved a top speed of 162 mph. The model was made from 1978 to 1981. The Ferrari flat-twelve had a content of 4390 cc and a power output of 360 bhp. The Ferrari had a top speed of 180 mph. Just like the BMW M1, the bodywork of the Ferrari has clean lines with straight angles. Ferrari made the 512 BB from 1976 to 1981. The 512 BB was succeeded by the 512 BBi, which was equipped with fuel injection system made by Bosch. The 512 BBi was made until 1984. Finally the Porsche 911 Turbo 3.3 flat-six had a content of 3299 cc and a power output of 300 bhp. The Porsche achieved a top speed of 160 mph. The 911 Turbo 3.3 was made from 1978 to 1989.
All three cars have the interest of enthusiasts. But the differences in availability are great. Porsche made more than 18,000 cars of the type 911 Turbo 3.3. To compare: of the Ferrari 512 BB more than 900 copies were built. And of the later 512 BBi were 1,000 pieces manufactured. Making a total of almost 2,000 cars. In contrast to these numbers, BMW produced only a small number of the BMW M1. The Munich company made 399 street versions and 56 race versions of the M1. A total of only 455 cars. Partly due to the differences in the availability, the price development of these three cars differ from each other. The bar graphs show the BMW M1 and Ferrari 512 BB.
Around the year 2000 the Porsche 911 Turbo was offered far less at auction than the last years. Back than, the prices of the Porsche were not very high. Well maintained cars were auctioned for less than £15,000. Only in the last years the interest has increased significantly. In 2015, some cars were auctioned to almost £190,000. But since then, the prices at auction has not surpased this amount. The Ferrari 512 BB shows a different development. Because it is a Ferrari, it was a better known model in the auction scene. Between 1995 and 2000 the best cars were auctioned up to around £34,000. In August 2015, RM Sotheby’s auctioned a 512 BB for £299,000. Afterwards, this amount has not been surpassed at auction.
The BMW M1 made a similar price development since the year 2000. It’s almost tenfold. The BMW was, however, throughout the years more in demand and was thereby on average more expensive. In 2000 the highest auction result of a BMW M1 was just over £46.000. In August 2016 RM Sotheby’s auctioned such a car for £440,000. It should be noted that the BMW was not sold often at auction, normally on average one or two per year. The car is still not offered frequently. You will not find a BMW M1 in the August 2017 catalogue of Bonhams, Gooding & Company or RM Sotheby’s. An exception was the year 2015, in which five cars were sold at auction.
Published at the site of JBR Capital, 22-11-2017
