BMW M1 Wall Art

From the mid-1970s, BMW started developing a new mid-engined sports car for the sports car world championship. However, this development together with some partner companies took too long and the motorsport association changed the rules in this time, so the M1 called car wasn’t allowed to compete anymore. Since everything was already prepared for the small homologation series planned for the M1, BMW did not stop the project but started selling the road car. Between 1978 and 1981 they sold 453 examples of it and even started in motorsport finally in 1979 and 1980 with their own Procar series in the supporting program of Formula 1.

But what is the story behind the unusual pictures in our gallery? Who hangs such a rare sports car as an art project on the wall of a garage? Or is it in the end even a trick? No, it is not a well-formed plastic block, nor a trick. Here actually hangs a BMW M1 on a garage wall – or even two. What looks so immaculate, had until recently still various blemishes.

The story begins around 1985, when a BMW M1 was involved in an accident in the US. Details are no longer known today, but the front left corner of the sports car was damaged up to the roof. The car was not scrapped, but stored for about 30 years. Subsequently, a dealer in the state of New York offered the wreckage in 2015 via the website ‘Bring A Trailer’ for sale. The current owner saw this offer and decided to put the car back on its wheels. For this he finally bought a second M1, which was irreparably damaged in an fire of the garage in which it was stored in the rear area of the car.

From these two wrecks the new owner now wanted to build one working and running sports car, but soon discovered that he would end up with ‘Frankenstein’s monster’. He could not have achieved original fit and finish as well as a torsion-resistant frame. Instead, he developed the idea to at least visually resurrect the car and then hang it on the wall of his garage. For this he built a new lightweight frame, which carries the high-quality painted body panels as well as the interior. This gives the viewer the impression of standing in front of a real car. The 3.5 liter inline six-cylinder engine is shown as a separate object. Now the M1 graces his wall and makes for an extraordinary sight. Further down on the garage floor in the near future not one but two roadworthy BMW M1s will move in.

Images: Bring A Trailer