Just over a year ago, Josh featured a barn-find BMW M1, perhaps the company’s most well known supercar. It had been parked and forgotten shortly after it was purchased new, and wore both low mileage and a liberal coating of dust. Given its limited production and god-like status among BMWs fanatics, Josh opined that it would go for big money after it was refreshed, and boy – he was right. The M1 has been listed here on ClassicDriver.com for – wait for it – $1,187,800!
Checkout the before and after shots! There’s just under 5,000 miles on the clock, and the low production volume may make it one of the lowest mileage cars in existence. The M1 was never registered by its solitary Italian owner, who apparently parked the car in 1982. While you can’t necessarily call this M1 “new,” it may be the closest thing to owning a largely unspoiled example – and the next owner will be the first official name on any paperwork.
What’s interesting is that despite its roughshod cosmetics, the M1 was essentially left untouched. The original tool roll, M1-specific luggage (worth thousands of dollars by itself), emergency warning triangle and spare wheel with cover are perfectly preserved. It’s safe to say that despite piles of junk sitting atop the M1, the car was rarely entered and certainly not harvested for its valuable parts and accessories. It simply was parked and left in place, which likely made the recent reconditioning less of a burden.
The interior appears to have simply been cleaned, as the seller only notes replacing the fuel and oil tanks as the major deviations from 100% OEM condition (assuredly, OEM parts were sourced). The M1-specific steering wheel and sport seats look wonderful, along with preserved carpets and dashboard. If you check out the selling dealer’s website, Mint Classics, you can see the highlights of the restoration process, including an engine rebuild that I’m assuming was left in the hand’s of the shop’s most talented technicians. It’s an eye-watering price, but likely the only chance you’ll have to essentially buy a brand-new M1.
Incredible find….
Remarkable!
Asking big money and selling for big money are two different things. I’d like to know what it actually ends up selling for!
Who parks something like this and walks away? Sometimes I just don’t understand humanity.
Someone with far more money then they obviously need. Nuff said.
Money is relative to what you have and what you need. A million can be as unimportant and $1 is to me. I will live just the same if I lost 1 or 10 dollars. 1 or 10 dollars to some may be eating or not eating for the week.
Could be the original owner passed away or suffered a health issue soon after buying it and putting that 5k on the odometer; if he had a younger bride who inherited his property and the car where it was parked, it may have taken this long for the property and car to leave her custody for whatever reason.
I once looked at property owned by a 90+ year old lady who had never seen nor set foot on it. Her late husband (a doctor) had purchased it for a pittance many years prior as an investment and had just never needed to liquidate it. As she was very elderly, the family hired an executor that was helping her liquidate her assets. The property was one of several she owned in the Vancouver area and due to the fact it was 45 minutes away on the other side of the river from her home she had never felt a need to look at it. The parcel was 5 acres, undeveloped, with a nice stand of large trees, surrounded by farmland. I wish I had bought it, but we needed a house not a project, and I bought the place I raised my kids in. No regrets but it would have been a heck of a property to own and play on.
This is what annoys me about stories like this they never tell the whole story. to me yes it is a beautiful car but the story behind it is what is interesting that is what give this car life. I want to know who the owner was and why the car was left there. What was the cost of the car new was the man wealthy or could it have been a man in love and bought this car for the love of his life and she died or even dumped him. It could be a million reasons but as i said that is what gives this car life or it is just another expensive car
Someone with way too much money.
In the late 30s my Grandparents neighbor bought a SSK Mercedes, drove it home,parked it in his garage and died later that night. His wife didn’t drive so the car sat until 1973 when she passed away. Jimmy Leake grew up and lived in Muskogee OK. He had heard the story about the car for years. He contacted the heirs and along with Dad, my Uncle and myself met Jimmy at the house.After a tree was removed and the doors opened there sat a 30’s SSK Mercedes covered in dust and full of rat droppings. After restoration it sat in Jimmy;s museum in Muskogee until it sold at auction some years later.
Maybe he woke up dead?
Why would an engine with 5000 miles on it need rebuilding. There would be no wear in it anywhere. I can see changing gaskets and seal as well as a good cleaning but not a rebuild. Somebody got hosed, in my opinion, but I guess if you can afford a million+ car you can afford an unnecessary rebuild too. Nice looking car but far far far out of my wheel house.
With the car left to sit 35 years for reasons unknown, and all those aged seals/gaskets needing replacement anyway just for peace of mind if not operational necessity, and given the present value of the car, it was probably best to do a full teardown and rebuild just to make sure there were no lurking mechanical surprises.
I’ve seen cars sit for 30 years and with low miles the gaskets and seals where still in perfect condition. And I have seen cars with 300,000 miles on them and they have original non leaking seals. I guess I would of drove it and if I notice a leak, I would fix that one.
SubG, I think you nailed it. It’s a million $ car.
Some sellers might be OK assuming that everything is fine with an engine like this that has 7k KMS, but it’s essentially a slightly detuned racing engine, and when a seller doesn’t know how it was treated back in 1979, and then what the conditions were while it sat for almost 40 years, it only makes sense to at least go through the engine just to make sure all is OK. And then if while you’re in there you also replace rings and bearings, then it’s rebuilt….and you can (correctly) say so when you offer it for $1 million plus.
Let an engine sit for 30+ years, then tear it down. You’ll most likely see a ridge of rust where the piston rings had been sitting against the cylinder bore. That’s just one area that can have an issue. Valve stems can get a similar effect. Rubber seals stick to metal parts, then tear the second the engine rotates again etc. ect.
So yeah, it was wise to go through it.
Just started my Dad’s 59 Chevy, last operated in 1987. Runs perfect, just like it used to. Fuel pump, hoses, and battery the only work done. But I’ve also seen the above mentioned problems, and a lot has to do with the humidity in the air where the car is sitting.
Why was it left to sit? When I read these kind of stories ,that’s the only question I have and are rarely answered.
This is interesting and special because in addition to having ultra low KMS, the car was restored by BMW Group Classic. That’s a BMW owned & run restoration facility for BMWs. It’s probably the most capable and prestigious BMW resto facility in the world. BMW Group Classic has been reproducing unobtanium vintage BMW parts for some years now.
I don’t think there’s any doubt that this M1 turned out perfect. That, and its history of little use and ultra low mileage would make it one of the most desirable and valuable M1s.
The fact that the M1 was BMW’s first supercar and also its first M car, and that M1-only races ran as support races for F1 for a couple of years, with F1 drivers competing in them against each other, makes them even more desirable.
M1s have sold recently at auction for a median price of about $440K, so it wouldn’t be surprising if this one sold for a million or more. They made only 450 of them.
PS. The 2nd pic from the top in Jeff’s story shows the famous BMW headquarters in Munich, also known as “the 4-cylinder building”. That’s a story in itself, given the unique hanging construction. Visiting it is like making a pilgrimage for a BMW fan.
I was fortunate to visit both the 4 cylinder building and the BMW museum right next to it while in Munich on business years ago. If you like M1s (there’s one in the museum) or just BMWs in general it’s well worth visiting BMW HQ in Munich.
Was this “restored” or actually “refreshed”, had the o3iginal parts cleaned and repaired?
If one turns in their vintage (ish) Rolex to Rolex for a “service”, they could end up replacing the original aged dial with a brand new one, not original any more….
It looks awfully “new” in there.
Never thought these were particularly interesting or a good design. Somebody tell me what the attraction is design-wise
I don’t get it either. But, a diesel FJ 40 sold for 100K on Bring a trailer not long ago so who can tell?
Many feel that the M1 is an outstanding design reflecting the period when it was produced, and continues to age well. But, as with everything, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Me? I love it!
Wow that makes me wet
Too much info lol
Hagerty has a concours at 655,000. Is it worth twice as much because of the mileage and history? I guess we will wait and see.
South italian unregisterd super car, could be a car form a Mafia Boss!
Hmm, a million you say? Not to me. No doubt a fantastic car, but we throw around the word “million” so often these days, especially when it comes to certain cars. I don’t know about you, but it will be a nice day in Wisconsin ( sorry, Mike) when I get a hold of a million dollars, and you can bet I wouldn’t piss it away on any one thing, like this. ( don’t forget, that million buys my friend Scotty 100, $10,000 dollar cars)
Thanks Howard, LOL. 40 and raining today! Take care, Mike. Oh , and agree about 100, $10,000 dollar cars. If only my numbers ever come up.
Well said my friend. With a hundred cars, you could even give some away and just think of the smiles and changed lives, yet you still would have so much pleasure left for your self. If I were blessed enough to have this kind of money, I think I would do as you said, not just spend it all on myself for one lousy garage queen I wouldn’t drive, I would share the wealth a little, and make our hobby bigger and more joyful!
I am with you Billy! Share the wealth and perhaps get some youth in the hobby. How cool to split 100 cars between Scotty, Howard, you and the rest of the BFers. Man, I can see some great times! LOL!!!!!!!!
People with just a million won’t be buying this. People with many, many millions would be. The smartest thing to do with one million dollars is grow it to two million dollars..
Let’s see, it has under 8,000 miles and has never been titled. Would it still be under BMW’s factory warranty?
The photos on the mint classics website linked above show a complete repaint. She ain’t original any more…
The mechanics installing and removing the engine really seem to know their business. They have the engine\transmission combo near perfectly level as they pull it from the bay.
I would have loved to take a couple of days washing, waxing, vacuuming, dusting crevices, cleaning the engine bay, hosing out the wheel wells….just puttering about getting to know this sexy girl. Damn, I need shower.
We had a customer bring one to the BMW dealer for service back in 1982.
One concern he has was.
“Hard to shift from 4th to 5th at over 5,000 rpm”
How fast do you have to go to know that.
PS. That’s normal for a ZF transaxle.
Reminds me of the car show I attended today. Mostly garage queens without a nick anywhere. Most of the guys were old and sitting in lawn chairs…I’m old and have a nice Vette that I drive. What are they saving those cars for?
People buying a $1,000,000 car don’t have just $1,000,000, they have hundreds of millions. It’s funny to me when people say if they had the money they would . . . The point is, that’s why most people don’t have $1,000,000. Stunning car. The paint and rebuild are expected in my opinion. Though I really enjoy driving a car pulled from a barn after 25 years I do respect the level of preservation put into this one.
Amazing ! Simply dumbfounded to see the photo of the vehicle with miscellaneous items atop its hood. Great car story and behind the scenes view of how everything in life is relative.
Thanks to owner and author for bringing this story to light.