The BMW M1: a Race Car That Couldn't Go Racing — Jason Cammisa Revelations Ep. 29

The E26-chassis BMW M1 — the first car ever from a new subsidiary of BMW, creatively called "BMW Motorsport" — is one of few cars ever produced that started out as a race car and then was developed into a road car solely for homologation purposes.

Cars developed this way are in ultra-exclusive rarified air, but the M1's development was so fraught with problems that it was never allowed to go racing.

However, the car's fundamentals were spectacular, from its beautiful Giugiaro design to its powerful BMW M88 straight-six, to its Lamborghini-Dallara racing chassis. It received nearly universal acclaim — as quick as the 12-cylinder Ferrari 512 BB and the Lamborghini Countach, but civilized and docile to drive.

The difficulties in getting production ramped up were mostly the fault of Lamborghini, which went bankrupt during the development after misappropriating funds received both from BMW for the M1 and from the U.S. government to develop an off-road military vehicle, and then being sued for copying another company's work.

BMW was able to break into the factory overnight and retrieve its parts and tooling, and moved production elsewhere. But the car was never produced in enough numbers to participate in FIA Group 4 and FIA Group 5 racing — the classes for which it was conceived.

As a race car first and foremost, it is the purest expression of any car created by BMW Motorsport GmbH — and its impact has trickled down into every car M puts its badge on today. Which is, to say, the majority of cars that BMW produces.

Its backstory was a disaster, but the M1 itself is one of the most incredible cars of its time.

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[richardmahoney]

This series is absolutely unbelievable Jason is one the GOAT’s

[jamesmcdaniel]

Revelations are one of my favorite series on YouTube. Thanks, Jason!

[bunsenn]

I find it hilarious how BMW’s first high-performance car was a Lamborghini.

[jonathanguerdrum]

The driving sequences at the end of these are the cherry on an amazing cake. You learn about the car, and then you get to feel like you are in it for a few minutes, with all the clicks, chatters, revs. GREAT SERIES!

[JC-lkoy]

Man, Hagerty is absolutely killing it. Great production quality, interesting topics, and a host with just the right amount of screws loose.

[rjscott]

I learn something new about automobiles every episode. I am as passionate about anything you can drive as I am about this show! I can't wait to see what's next...

[tb-cgvd]

My dad advertised BASF so we got to see the M1 in that amazing livery racing & I could never work out why such a brilliant car just disappeared. 40 years later now I know!

Thanks internet.

[krautsurfer]

Someone somehow even managed to make a Procar M1 road legal in Germany, you could hear that thing approach you for quite some time before it passed you on the Autobahn at full tilt. What a noise, what a car! That was a fantastic day 😍

[verdict]

The driving segments at the end of these videos are always such a treat - I wish they were longer!

[IDvI]

I'm old, and when I was a teen I saw a picture of the M1 and stuck it next to my poster of the white Lamborghini Countach and Farrah Fawcett. I always wished I had a bigger poster like the other two, but I was enamoured by how cool it was while being simpler looking than the Lambo. One of my dream cars. Thanks Jason, for your fantastic story telling, more Revelation episodes please.

[DDxRaptor]

Huge props to Jason for the immaculate German. Haven't heard a non-German person speaking it so clean since a while, and this comes from a native German ^^ I actually had to rewind the video to hear if Jason really said it the way he did. Please keep up the awesome work!

[appelflapdrol]

Solid vid. Only thing I would add is that the wheels were made by Campagnolo, another Italian manufacturer but famous for high end aluminium roadbike components. Also inventor of the quick-release axle system, revolutionized the parallellogram derailleur, and is still leading in high end bikeparts

[chetanaradhya]

This video series is so addictive. Please don't stop until you cover all the legendary stories about automobiles.

[VaraNiN]

Always a good day when new Revelations hit <3
Btw, why can Jason speak such good German? Words like "München" usually are an absolute killer to most english speakers

[DiRTXbox]

9:53
I was genuinely gobsmacked and nearly dropped my fork when Jason read that sign in perfect, accent free German…
I was really really impressed by that. ^^

And yet again, another awesome video guys! I really enjoy every single one of these car revelation episodes ^^

[vianhoho]

5:32 I've been waiting for the explanation about the M color origins ever since Jason mentioned it in a Carmudgeon episode some weeks back. That's definitely interesting 🤯

[Kaipeternicolas]

Amazing video! Well done! As a German who loves motorsport and grew up with family working at BMW I really appreciate this video! Even Jasons German sounded VERY GOOD!

[tylerramsey]

The POV driving at the very end with the engine noise is my favorite part of the episodes lol

[_JimS]

I saw this little beast run at Mid-Ohio the one and only time. You know where it was around the track for the engines literal SCREAM!!! One Badass little monster. The memory is well etched in my mind.

[lesflynn]

This is such A grade quality content. The research that goes into these Revelations videos is so appreciated by your viewers.