Oct 7, 2017 • Uncategorized •

Though not found in a barn, this 1981 BMW M1 (one of 430) has been stored somewhere (perhaps in a barn) most of its life and accumulated fewer than 8,000 original miles on its original tires! It also comes with a more interesting back-story than most barn finds, full of globe-trotting adventures before landing in its current location of Miami Florida. You can write the next chapter of that story — right after you write a check for $658,000, the “Buy It Now” price here on eBay.

BMW went all out with their supercar, but a series of events outside their control conspired to doom these brilliant cars in their infancy. Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the M1 would have been built by Lamborghini but then Lambo declared bankruptcy, one of several improbable events that afflicted the M1. Take a minute to read the fascinating sad story of this advanced automobile on BMWBlog.com.

During the dark days of lackluster performance when 0-60 times under 10 seconds were considered “sporty,” and the Chevrolet Corvette took 8.4 seconds to achieved mile-a-minute speed, this M1 could lay it down in 5.8. Though built to race and win, the M1 is no peaky high-strung handful either; the torquey straight-six will gladly idle across town for milk and eggs, and the prodigious handling can be enjoyed on your favorite twisty two-lane while still offering true supercar grip at your favorite Open Track event.

This particular M1 accompanied its auto-journalist owner on business trips around the globe and comes with full documentation and M1 accessories. Researching these remarkable automobiles will only deepen your respect for them. Rather like Honda (Acura) with its NSX, BMW built a fabulous approachable supercar that can be used. This one may be destined for a museum, but it could also end up in your driveway. What do you think of this rare ’80s supercar?