The BMW M1 is a supercar produced by the German automaker BMW from 1978 to 1981. It was the first and only mid-engined BMW. It employed a twin-cam M88/1 3.5 L 6-cylinder gasoline engine, a version of which was later first used in the South African version of the BMW 745i, of which 209 examples were built between 1984 and 1986, as well as the E24 BMW M6/M635CSi and E28 BMW M5. The engine had six separate throttle butterflies, four valves per cylinder and produced 277 PS (204 kW) in the street version, giving a top speed of 260 km/h (162 mph). Turbocharged racing versions were capable of producing around 850 hp.
The M1 coupe was hand-built between 1978 and 1981 under the Motorsport division of BMW as a homologation special for sports car racing. The body was designed by Giugiaro, taking inspiration from the 1972 BMW Turbo show car. Originally, BMW commissioned Lamborghini to work out the details of the car's chassis, assemble prototypes and manufacture the vehicles, but Lamborghini's financial position meant that BMW reassumed control over the project in April 1978, after seven prototypes were built. Only 456 production M1s were built, making it one of BMW's rarest models. The spirit of the M1 lived on in the first-generation M5, as both models shared the same (though slightly modified) engines.
Though the car never saw a great deal of racing success, the M1 is remembered as a refined and civilized supercar in the true BMW tradition, with great handling and stellar build quality. Many believe that the Audi R8 is the M1's spiritual successor due to a similar combination of values and its similar intent of targeting the Porsche 911. In 2004, Sports Car International named the car number ten on the list of Top Sports Cars of the 1970s.