To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION WITHOUT RESERVE at RM Sothebys' Munich event, 23 November 2024.

• Wears unique paintwork styled by the legendary artist Walter Maurer; wears “Exclusiv” lettering and thought to be the only M1 road car to feature Maurer artwork
• Accompanied by a copy of an August 2024 letter from Maurer, who recounts imagining the M1’s unique finish with the car’s first owner
• One of only 399 examples of the M1 made as road-going homologation specials; bred for competition as BMW’s “halo” M car
• Sleek wedge shape penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro paired with a spaceframe chassis designed by Giampaolo Dallara
• Powered by its matching-numbers 3.5-litre inline-six engine that produces 277 PS
• Odometer shows only 33,862 kilometres

BMW’s groundbreaking Art Car series was instigated by Hervé Poulain in 1975. A serial entrant to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Poulain called on contemporary artists to use BMW racing cars as a canvas. Alexander Calder duly obliged, alongside Walter Maurer, to design the colourful 3.0 CSL that Poulain campaigned in the 1975 edition of Le Mans. More ambitious projects followed, with Maurer taking a leading role in Art Car projects involving works by Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein, and Ernst Fuchs—though the M1 painted by Andy Warhol in 1979 stole the limelight. The American artist’s work is said to have taken just 28 minutes and the Warhol-styled M1 was driven by Poulain (alongside Marcel Mignot and Manfred Winkelhock) in that year’s Le Mans, finishing 6th overall.

While the M1 Art Car made headlines at Le Mans, Maurer’s involvement with BMW continued with commissions for custom paint job designs. These extended to those worn by the M1 Procars, though it is thought that only one road car would bear a design from the German artist—the example offered here, chassis 4301135.

Completed by the factory in White over a Black interior, the M1 finished its first phase of production in Italy on 21 September 1979, then was marked complete by Baur on 9 November. Very soon after its production date, the BMW was given the ‘Exclusiv’ finish by Maurer that it still wears to this day. Gaining a refinished Pearl White base coat, which the car wears on its front lip, sides, and rear haunches, the M1 wears a notably darker shade of grey airbrushed on its bonnet, engine cover, and roof, which serve to accentuate the M1’s sharp profile. The all-white wheels are complemented by several black details around the body, while the M1 bears Maurer’s signature underneath the right rear light cluster. The BMW is accompanied by a copy of a letter by Maurer, who recounts imagining the car’s unique design with its first owner. The finish was achieved while the M1 was still relatively new, thought to have covered around 200 kilometres at the time.

The car’s first owner was Mr Curt Soldan, a member of the family behind the Dr C Soldan confectionary and cough drop manufacturing business based in Nuremburg, Germany. It is believed that Mr Soldan retained the BMW for 10 years, and by July 1989 the M1 was registered in the United Kingdom. Here, the car had three owners over a 20-year period, prior to returning to Germany in 2009. The M1 entered The Munich Masterpieces Collection later that year and has been used sparingly, with its odometer reading just 33,862 kilometres at the time of cataloguing. According to factory records, the BMW retains its matching-numbers engine, and it is accompanied by a Birth Certificate by BMW Classic.

While the M1 is a special car for any BMW enthusiast, this Maurer-designed road car will be especially appealing for its custom charm and link to BMW’s famous Art Cars.
To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/auctions/mu24/.