German classic car dealer, Mint Classics, just found a rare BMW M1 supercar tucked away and left for dead in a garage located in southern Italy. The BMW M1 is said to be of manufactured between 1978 to 1981 and has only 453 production units made. The BMW M1 is not only rare, but this particular car only has 4,500 miles on the odometer.
The BMW M1 Has Not Seen Sunlight In Three Decades
The BMW M1 that has been sitting on the garage for 34 years can be said to still be in mint condition. Aside from the pile of dust covering it, the paint job still looks neat and may just need a little bit of retouching and waxing to bring it back to its former glory. The interior of the M1 also looks like it time travelled as it has minimal scratches, which makes restoration fairly easy.
BMW's Fastest Car Of The 80's
The BMW M1 comes with a 3.5liter twin cam straight six engine that produces 272 horsepower, which is already supercar fast during its prime. The power output may not be that big compared to today's supercars, but it is still definitely faster than most new sports cars such as a stock Subaru BRZ or a Mazda Miata. The car still has stock innards such as the throttle body, Kugelfischer fuel injection, serpentine exhaust headers and the intake stacks that are hiding beneath the airbox.
Alleged BMW M1 Protoype Went Up For Sale
On 2015, another BMW M1 was listed for sale in Ebay. The M1 listed was not one of the 453 units produced, but is said to be the BMW M1 Prototype. It would have been the very first prototype of the supercar that was built by Lamborghini. Unfortunately, the seller took out the listing of the alleged BMW M1 Prototype before the sale end date and no one knows the reason why. It could have been a knock-off, or the owner may have realized the value of what he possess.
Rare cars dating back to the 1940's are the perfect target project for car enthusiasts and restoration experts. Finding a true collectors item would depend on how the experts utilize their resources, in looking for a rare find, beating the rest, and how neatly they restore the vehicle. German cars are known to withstand the test of time, which is why most rare finds that are restored with the least amount of effort are BMW's, Volks, and Porches.
The Restored BMW M1 Could Sell Up To A Very Huge Amount Of Money
Mint Classics plan on restoring the BMW M1 supercar and bring it back to its original form. They will most likely sell it afterwards for a hefty amount. BMW M1's are rare as it is, a BMW M1 was sold for approximately $500 thousand dollars a few years ago, and this particular M1 had about eight thousand miles on it. A fully restored M1 with less than five thousand miles would be the true collectors item that any German car enthusiast could have.
