It looks like BMW is bringing back the M1, the legendary mid-engined two-seater that redefined the supercar and proved a BMW could run with the best from Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini.

The company once again has those marques – and Audi, which knocked one out of the park with the incredible R8 – in its sights and believes a car based on the M1 Hommage it unveiled last month is just the weapon to bring them down. "We have the know-how, we have the right engine, we even have the infrastructure to build such a car," company board member Herbert Diess says.

The M1 that Giorgetto Giugiaro designed for BMW was a seminal car. It was smooth, it was quick and it was easy to drive – impressive given that it was a race car homologated for street use. Top Gear called it "civilized" and "the world's first truly user-friendly mid-engined supercar." The car gave rise to BMW's M cars and its six-cylinder engine went on to appear in the M3 and M5. BMW hand-built just 456 M1s between 1978 and 1981, and they command top-dollar these days.

Adrian van Hooydonk floated the idea of developing a supercar concept five years ago to mark the M1's 25th anniversary, but then-chairman Helmut Penke shot it down. Norbert Reithofer is in charge now, and he embraced the idea of marking the M1's 30th anniversary with the Hommage. Although it's only a styling exercise – there's nothing under the hood or behind those black windows – it was designed with the idea it might be built. Britain's CAR Magazine says it almost certainly will be, and Auto Express says the project's been approved.

According to CAR, BMW's engineers are looking at a three-part structure for the chassis consisting of a front subframe with suspension, passenger cell and rear subframe with suspension and drivetrain. They'll most likely be fabricated from aluminum, although a carbon fiber passenger cell is possible. As for the engine, CAR says anything in the BMW lineup will fit but the most likely candidate is a 3.0-liter straight six with three turbos and about 450 horsepower. Auto Express will come with either the six or the 4.0-liter V8 from the M3. That would give it about 400 horsepower. Whatever it gets, look for a 0-to-60 time of around 4 seconds and a top speed just north of 200. A diesel and hydrogen version also are possible.

The production car will build on Benoit Jacob's design for the Hommage, and BMW Group chief designer Chris Bangle tells CAR, "the car's exterior will go through at least one more revision, for both aesthetic and engineering reasons."

So when would it be built? If BMW goes full bore, CAR says it could be ready by 2010 but 2013 is more likely. "Done right," Diess told the magazine, "I believe we can only benefit from such a car."

Photos courtesy BMW

The M1 Hommage (left) pays tribute to the 1978 M1, which in turn was inspired by the 1972 Turbo Concept (right).