22.03.201840 years young and not a bit older: The BMW M1

The BMW M1 is not the first time theme on our blog, but for the first time we are celebrating its 40th birthday. Anniversaries of various kinds have always determined the happenings at the world's most popular classic car fair. The Techno Classica in Essen is the meeting place of the international classic scene for the 30th time and offers the perfect setting from 21 to 25 March 2018 to celebrate the birthdays of particularly fascinating vehicles. The BMW Group Classic looks back in Essen on the debut of the BMW M1 40 years ago. With its timeless design and racing history, the mid-engined sports car is one of the milestones in the company's history. We dedicate ourselves to the role model and find that the miniatures are more alive than ever before. Which is also due to the appearance of the large scale 1:12.

BMW emphasizes, at the Essen trade fair that is just beginning, the characteristic harmony of aesthetics and sportiness that was instilled in the BMW M1, which is just 1.14 meters high. The body design, under the direction of the Italian designer Giorgio Giugiaro, was almost Italian. His in-line six-cylinder engine, however, was a masterpiece from Munich. Like the vehicle concept, the drive technology was designed to meet both the race track challenges and the road legal requirements. In the standard version, the BMW M1 was the fastest German road sports car with an output of 204 kW / 277 hp and a top speed of more than 260 kilometers per hour. But basically he was designed for motorsport.

In the program of the European Formula 1 World Championship races discharged Procar series, he went with a up to 361 kW / 490 hp engine at the start, for the races according to the rules of Group 5 turbocharging provided for an increase in performance 625 kW / 850 hp to 698 kW / 950 hp. And the Procar cars are also the ones that serve as an example for our current model cars - even though they were later converted for participation in other championships. Minichamps, for example, brings the M1 in the version for the DRM, where the car with Kurt King took 7th place at the legendary Eifel race at the Nürburgring in 1982. Availible in the scale 1:12 under the item number 125822931 and in the popular Jägermeister colors.

Stucco, Piquet and the M1

The model with the number 125802901 is available in the same format, but in the varnishing of the team BMW Motorsport, which recreates the car of Hans Joachim Stuck and Nelson Piquet in the 1000-kilometer race in 1980. At that time, the motorsport legends in the BMW M1 Group 4 took the 3rd place. Let's stay with Nelson Piquet: The fantastic M1 that the world campion at the Procar race 1979  was driven is only availible at Modelissimo and Ck-modelcars as 1:12 (CMR12001). A click on the link embedded below leads you, dear readers, to the overview of all model cars from BMW, which we currently have. Whoever wants to close gaps in his starting field, can do so in the format 1:43 and 1:18. And also in the street area.

Above all, the BMW M1 in 1:18 available in orange and red are to be mentioned: Both the Aachen and the model car makers from Vaulx-en-Vaulin offer first-class work and offer the M1 with all-round opening doors and hoods: Great miniatures. As in the previous year, the BMW Group Classic will also be using the temporary hall 14 at the eastern entrance to the trade fair grounds at the Techno Classica 2018 to present its jubilees and numerous other rarities from different epochs in the history of automobiles and motorcycles. The involvement of dedicated members from a total of 21 BMW and Mini Clubs ensures a particularly wide variety of historic vehicles. The list of classics shown in Essen includes 32 cars and four motorcycles. The headquarters of the BMW Group Classic in Munich is the inspiration behind the design inside the exhibition hall.

Click here: to see two pages of the BMW M1