Considered one of solely 54 BMW M1 Procars ever constructed will go underneath the hammer throughout Broad Arrow’s Monterey Jet Middle public sale on August 14, 2025. Broad Arrow estimates the automobile will convey between $1.45 million and $1.85 million. Chassis quantity 94301057 is a uncommon survivor. It has by no means been raced, has remained in authentic, as-delivered situation since new, and nonetheless wears its manufacturing unit paint and inside. For a purpose-built competitors automobile, that degree of preservation is extremely uncommon.
BMW Motorsport’s First Floor-Up Creation
By the late Seventies, BMW Motorsport GmbH — established in 1972 — had already constructed a powerful racing résumé. The light-weight BMW 328 had claimed victory on the 1940 Mille Miglia; the BMW 700RS introduced success within the early Nineteen Sixties; and the BMW 2002 and three.0 CSL “Batmobile” grew to become touring automobile legends. The M1 was completely different. It was the primary automobile totally conceived and engineered by BMW Motorsport, designed to satisfy FIA Group 5 rules and take the struggle to Porsche in worldwide sports activities automobile racing.
Energy got here from the M88/1 3.5-liter DOHC inline-six — a dry-sump, 24-valve engine producing round 470 horsepower in Procar trim and able to revving to 9,000 rpm. Energy was despatched by a ZF five-speed handbook gearbox to the rear wheels. Weighing simply over 2,200 kilos, the Procar-spec M1 might attain almost 190 mph. Brakes have been four-wheel ventilated discs, and suspension was by unequal-length wishbones in any respect 4 corners. In comparison with the road-going M1, the Procar model featured wider observe, aggressive bodywork, built-in air jacks, and racing-specific cooling and exhaust methods.
The Procar Championship
Manufacturing delays — induced partially by a failed partnership with Lamborghini — pressured BMW to rethink its racing program. Group 5 homologation required 400 examples for Group 4 competitors earlier than additional growth. This prompted BMW Motorsport boss Jochen Neerpasch to create a brand new racing sequence to showcase the M1: the BMW M1 Procar Championship.
The Procar sequence ran in 1979 and 1980 as a System One assist occasion. The format was distinctive: the 5 quickest F1 drivers in Friday qualifying earned seats in factory-entered Procars for the Saturday race, lining up in opposition to privateer groups.
The racing shortly grew to become a fan favourite. Niki Lauda received the inaugural 1979 championship, with Nelson Piquet taking the 1980 crown. The grids featured a mixture of F1 stars — together with Alan Jones, Jacques Laffite, Clay Regazzoni, and Hans-Joachim Caught — and seasoned sports activities automobile drivers. The automobiles have been equal, the expertise pool was deep, and the racing was typically nearer than the F1 important occasion.
You possibly can hear Neerpasch discuss these previous occasions in our unique video:
Chassis 94301057: From Vasek Polak to Right this moment
Completed by BMW on Might 9, 1979, chassis 94301057 was ready to Procar specification by Osella in Italy. It was delivered to Vasek Polak, a Czech-born racer and famend Porsche vendor based mostly in Hermosa Seaside, California. Polak’s motorsport profession stretched from pre-war bikes to making ready profitable automobiles for Ken Miles, Roger Penske, and Wolfgang von Journeys. His dealership grew to become a significant Porsche racing hub within the U.S., however he was not solely loyal to Stuttgart — and the M1 Procar represented a chance to compete in a brand new worldwide sequence.
The automobile was shaken down at Riverside Worldwide Raceway for break-in laps and preliminary testing. Nonetheless, FIA rule adjustments ended its eligibility earlier than Polak might enter it in competitors. With no fast outlet for the automobile, he positioned it into storage.
In 1989, the M1 was offered to its second proprietor, nonetheless carrying its authentic, unliveried white paint. The mechanical specification remained untouched: the three.5-liter M88/1 engine, tubular chassis, fiberglass physique panels, and manufacturing unit racing tools have been all intact. The present proprietor acquired the automobile in 2021 and commissioned a service at The Werkshop in 2022. Since then, it has seen solely gentle train at non-public observe days.
Why This Instance Stands Out
Out of the 54 Procars constructed, many have been raced exhausting, crashed, rebuilt, or modified through the years. Only a few retain their authentic bodywork, paint, and inside — and even fewer have averted aggressive use totally. Chassis 94301057 is actually a brand new Procar from 1979. It stays an genuine illustration of how these automobiles left BMW Motorsport’s workshop, proper all the way down to its period-correct mechanical parts.
For collectors, this degree of originality provides a number of alternatives: concours-level preservation, museum show, or sympathetic preparation for classic racing occasions. Given the Procar’s standing as one in all BMW’s most recognizable racing automobiles — and the one one-make sequence ever to persistently function the highest F1 drivers of its period — its significance is nicely established.
Public sale Particulars:
- Lot: 276
- Date: Thursday, 14 August 2025
- Location: Monterey Jet Middle, Monterey, California
- Estimate: $1,450,000 – $1,850,000
[Source: Broad and Arrow Auctions]
