BMW M1 Record Car

Many car fans know the BMW M1 as the only mid-engined vehicle produced in Munich to date. Also its history with the development work at Dallara and Lamborghini is well-known, likewise the racing events called Procar as well as the Group 5 Turbo cars in Le Mans. However, there was another chapter in M1 history that focused on speeding records and might surprise some of our readers. Since it wasn’t an official factory project, but based on private initiative, it isn’t mentioned in many BMW history books.

The BMW M1 used for this project was built as a normal road version in 1979 and delivered to its first owner in Berlin the following year. In 1981, racing driver Harald Ertl from Mannheim/Germany bought the vehicle, because he wanted to make record attempts together with British Petroleum (BP). With its 3.5-liter inline six-cylinder engine and only 204 kW/277 hp and 330 newtonmeters of torque they couldn’t reach much, which was also the case with the original aerodynamics of the car. Therefore, the bodywork has undergone extensive modifications, which improved the drag coefficient and at the same time improved the airflow to the engine with big NACA ducts on the sides. Seger & Hoffmann, who used aramia fibers as the material for the glued and riveted body parts, provided the design.

At the same time, Ertl, together with Gustav Hoecker Sportwagen-Service GmbH in Landau, revised the engine for the use of LPG (Autogas). BP was keen to prove the performance of its 110-octane fuel with a speed of more than 300 kph in the modified M1. For this purpose, the team increased the engine power with two KKK turbochargers to 410 hp and installed two gas tanks of 45 liters each in the trunk. In addition there were special shock absorbers from Fichtel & Sachs, wide Goodyear NCT tires on three-part Ronal alloy wheels, an exhaust system of Heinrich Gillet KG, VDO instruments, a rollcage from Matter, a lightweight intercooler from Längerer & Reich and the LPG system from Vialle.

On October 17, 1981, BP had rented the Volkswagen test track in Ehra-Lessien/Germany and went to the record attempt. Harald Ertl got behind the steering wheel and disappeared onto the same track, which was also used by McLaren and Bugatti for topspeed record runs several years later. For the acceleration of this special M1 they measured 5.3 seconds to 100 kph (62 mph) and 15.3 seconds to 200 kph (124 mph). As an average topspeed over two runs in opposite directions, the official timekeepers calculated 301.4 kph (187.2 mph). Thus, the team around Harald Ertl and BP surpassed the previous record by 18.4 kph (11.4 mph). Then it soon became quiet around this particular BMW M1. For nearly 25 years it stood unseen in a garage in East London. Now it is offered as a barn find during the Coys of Kensington auction at the Techno Classica Essen. The auction house didn’t mention the expected hammer price for the car.

Images: Coys of Kensington, BMW Group Archive