This BMW M1 Could Be The Greatest Barn Find Ever

Someone has stumbled across this vital piece of supercar history and we can’t wait to see it brought back to its former glory. Somehow this BMW M1 (one of 453 produced) has managed to cover just 4554 miles during its troubled life before being left to accumulate a saddening layer of dust in an Italian garage. Considering up to 40 of the original production cars were converted into Procars for racing, this M car deserves some serious time and effort to get it back on the road.

Featuring a 3.5-litre straight six developing around 270bhp in road car spec, the M1 represented BMW’s first crack at the supercar market. Using a five-speed manual gearbox, the standard M1 was capable of 0-60mph in 5.4 seconds, on to a top speed of 161mph back in 1978. With no comparable car being produced by the company since, the M1 has sky-rocketed in value in the last decade or so, meaning even this barn find should fetch an eye-watering price.

This 1981 car is a true homologation-special considering the F1 driver-festooned Procar race series that it spawned, and thankfully Mint Classics - based in Munich - will be seeing to the car’s full restoration.

The chances of BMW ever making a naturally-aspirated supercar ever again are incredibly slim, but apparently it has trademarked the M1 CS badge recently. Could it be an i8-based supercar to take on the likes of the new NSX? Who knows, but for now let’s wait and see how stunning this dusty specimen will look once it has been fettled back to life.