Chassis No. WBS59910004301413

Engine No. M88-473

By the late 1970s, BMW's "M" division had firmly established itself as a world-class force in motorsport, following a legacy of success that began with the lightweight 328s in the 1940 Mille Miglia and continued with the 700RS and the BMW 2002 in the 1960s and early 1970s. This momentum culminated in the creation of the BMW M1, the division's first fully independent engineering project. Designed to compete with Porsche in Group 5 racing, the M1 featured a mid-engine layout, a tubular space frame chassis by Gianpaolo Dallara, and a striking wedge design by Giorgetto Giugiaro, which made it as aggressive looking as anything on the road. Production delays stemming from a failed partnership with Lamborghini led to a collaborative effort among TIR, ItalDesign, Baur, and BMW Motorsport, resulting in the production of 453 cars between 1978 and 1981, including road and racing versions. The M1 also played a key role in the Procar BMW M1 Championship, a series designed to facilitate Group 4 and Group 5 homologation, with drivers like Niki Lauda and Nelson Piquet winning the first two seasons.

According to its BMW Birth Certificate, this car, chassis number 4301413, was completed on 14 January 1981 in Orange with a Black cloth interior. Online registries note this car is one of 11 M1s that went to Arabian Gulf Mechanical Centre Ltd. of Sharjah, the sole BMW importer in the United Arab Emirates, when new.

From there, the car was purchased by Vijay Mallya living in Surrey, England, who later became the co-founder of the Force India Formula One Team, with the digital history file showing it was first registered in the United Kingdom on 30 January 1989. The car stayed under Mallya's ownership, and he had his prized BMW transported with him when he moved to Dubai in December 1992. The car then returned to the United Kingdom along with Mallya in February 1994. The car was then titled in the state of Alaska in the United States in 2012. A 2012 insurance card lists Mr. Mallya as the insured driver, listing his address in Sausalito, California, where it is believed to have remained until it once again returned to the United Kingdom in 2014. After a remarkable 29 years with this BMW across three continents, Mallya sold the car in 2016, with the current owner registering it in the Netherlands in August 2019.

Today, this 1981 BMW M1 is a delight to behold and drive, with the pedigree of BMW Motorsport readily apparent throughout, it is not only the cornerstone of all "M" development that followed but is rightfully considered among the rarest and most desirable of its era's supercars.