The 1981 BMW M1 (E26) is a sportscar developed and manufactured by BMW.
Following the success of the Group 5 CSL "Batmobile" cars in the 1970s, the head of BMW's Motorsport division, Jochen Neerpasch, wanted to take on the company's rival Porsche in Group 5 racing.
A problem at the time for the M division was a lack production capacity as they couldn't produce the four hundred examples required to successfully homologate a car for competition. To help meet this requirement, a deal was signed with Lamborghini for them to design and assemble a car, with BMW providing the engine.
Lamborghini did design the chassis although they soon realised that they also couldn't meet the homologation production requirements, and rumours of the company's financial collapse crippled the deal with BMW.
After the deal collapsed, BMW sought other partners to assist in brining their car to market. The chassis was produced by Marchesi whilst the body was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign and produced by Trasformazione Italiana Resina, with assembly taking place in Turin. Each engine was hand-built by BMW in Munich, shipped to be fitted into each body by Baur in Stuttgart, and then shipped back to BMW Motorsport in Munich for tuning.
Once the project was completed in mid-1978, BMW had produced their first mid-engine car. However, by the time production had been finalised, the rules governing Group 5 racing had changed and pushed BMW to pivot to Group 4 racing as a result.
Its 3.5-litre inline-6 engine was developed by BMW Motorsport, having taken the block from the 535CSi (E24) and the four-valve head from the racing CSL car engine. It was teamed with a ZF Friedrichshafen 5-speed manual gearbox to give it a racing edge as BMW intended for a road-legal race car, and not a supercar.
The suspension setup was designed around a race car, resulting in double wishbones for each wheel, height adjustable coil springs, and Bilstein gas dampers for each road car. With such a focus on racing present from its conception, the chassis is capable of taking more power than the 274 bhp offered, but the road car is fitted with softer bushings to improve comfort.
In 1979 and 1980, BMW hosted the "Procar BMW M1 Championship" to promote the car and allow BMW to produce more cars to meet Group 4 homologation rules. The Procar setups used continued on after meeting homologation into endurance racing, including the 24 Heures du Mans, and Group B rallying.
It went on sale in mid-1978 and production ran until mid-1981, at which point over 450 examples had been produced; 399 road cars and 54 competition cars. It was the only mid-engine produced by BMW until the i8 entered production in 2014.
Games[]
Need for Speed: Unbound[]
The M1 1981 appears in Need for Speed: Unbound as part of Volume 1 following a car list article published on October 6, 2022 to the official Need for Speed website.[2][3]
Stock
The stock M1 can be purchased from the "Buy Stock" section of the "Buy and Sell" menu in the garage for $216,500 and has a Tier B 156 performance rating.
Story[]
It is unlocked in Story mode upon the player completing the "Prologue" and reaching Sunday, Week 1.
Lakeshore Online[]
It is unlocked for purchase in Lakeshore Online mode upon the player selecting their starter vehicle.
"Legendary Custom"
The M1 "Legendary Custom" is a custom car gifted to the player upon meeting its unlock requirements and has a Tier B 156 performance rating.
Story & Lakeshore Online[]
It is gifted as a reward upon the player collecting all collectibles (Bear Champs, Billboards, and Street Art) and earning 3 stars from all volume 1 activities (Drift Zones, Long Jumps, Speedruns, and Speed Traps).
Upon being gifted to the player, it is added to both their Story mode and Lakeshore Online mode garages.
Trivia[]
- In Need for Speed: Unbound, the M1's engine was referred to as a V12 and not an inline-6 prior to the Volume 3 update.
Gallery[]
("Legendary Custom")
References[]
- ↑ Website: automobile-catalog.com (2022) 1981 BMW M1 Coupe E26. Available at: https://www.automobile-catalog.com/car/1981/40145/bmw_m1.html
- ↑ Website: ea.com/games/need-for-speed (2022) Need for Speed Unbound Car List. Available at: https://www.ea.com/games/need-for-speed/need-for-speed-unbound/about/car-list
- ↑ Article: gamespot.com (2022) Need For Speed Unbound Has Over 140 Cars To Collect And Customize. Available at: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/need-for-speed-unbound-has-over-140-cars-to-collect-and-customize/1100-6508106/