We were completely taken with the BMW M1 Hommage concept car that was introduced at the Concorso d'Eleganza at Villa d'Este earlier this year. It's blend of modern and retro design is a fitting tribute to the original M1 road car, and we'd have no objection to BMW putting a production version on the road. There were only a handful of photos available when the car was officially introduced, but since then BMW has released several more for us to drool over including some of the original design sketches. We felt no need to keep them to ourselves and have put them in a high resolution gallery below for your viewing pleasure.
Those in attendance at the German Grand Prix this past weekend were also treated to a revival of the M1 Procar series that originally raced in support of the F1 schedule in 1979 and 1980. The original series featured the five fastest F1 drivers in the Friday practice session in addition to another 15 cars with up and coming drivers behind the wheel. The M1 Procars, which were featured in races both on Saturday and Sunday, were piloted by some of the most famous names in motorsports including three-time F1 champion Niki Lauda who took the lead early and kept it until the end. Follow the jump to read about the drivers' post-race reactions or check out the huge gallery of high resolution images from the race below.
Click for hi-res gallery of the original BMW M1 Procar
BMW has announced that the legendary M1 Procar series will return for a one-time curtain call in support of the upcoming German Grand Prix at Hockenheim on July 19-20. The series originally ran in fields of 20 in support of the 1979 and 1980 European Grands Prix. Fifteen young aspiring drivers would face off against the five fastest F1 drivers from that Friday's practice session in homologated M1s. The only mid-engined BMW sportscar was originally unveiled thirty years ago and retains a cult status among enthusiasts, to which BMW recently paid tribute to with the M1 Homage.
According to BMW Motorsport director Mario Theissen – also head of the BMW Sauber F1 team – "Just a mention of the M1 Procar series today still triggers an enthusiastic reaction. This revival serves as a thank you to the fans." This year's revival will feature many of the original drivers who campaigned the M1s in the original Procar series, including Jacques Laffite, Christian Danner, Marc Surer, Dieter Quester, Harald Grohs, Prince Leopold of Bavaria, Jochen Neerpasch, and Frank Stella. Follow the jump for the full press release, and check out the images in the galleries below for a trip down memory pit-lane.
Click above for high-res gallery of BMW's latest M3
It's been 30 years since the first BMW wearing a trademark tri-color marking was introduced in a homologation effort as the M1. Since then 300,000 vehicles have been graced with that coveted "M" telltale, and still countless others have had the logo applied in the hopes the letter would add some magic to a plebian 318 or 528. Fully one percent of BMWs sold in 2007 were M models, and the milestone 300,000th car, an alpine white M3 Coupe, will live with its owner in the town of its birth, the East Bavarian hamlet of Regensburg. The M3 is likely the most legendary M car, with the original E30 version also existing for homologation purposes and morphing into the current V8-powered technical tour de force that can now be had in Coupe, Sedan or Convertible guise - a true triple threat. There appears no end in sight for BMW's M division's masterful application of the art and science of high performance engineering. Now, if BMW would just return our calls, we can permanently add the 300,001st M-model to the Autoblog Garage, though we're certain it's already built and sold. Press release after the jump.
We've been debating whether or not this is a real photo or an expert rendering, but if it is a photoshopped image of a BMW M1 prototype, then it is very convincing. According to FreshTarmac.com, this photo was taken in a hangar in Spain. It shows a sleek two-door, probably mid-engined coupe with attributes of the new M3 incorporated into its design, especially the front fenders and hood. With BMW introducing the M1 Hommage Concept at the Concorso d'Eleganza at Villa d'Este last week, we hope this means that is already considering a production version. Come on BMW, build it! Thanks for the tip, John!
It's been two weeks since our last podcast -- we tried to do one last week, but technical difficulties scuttled the effort. With that in mind, we packed some extra content into Autoblog Podcast #93. It's the usual rollicking good time where we discuss our current Autoblog Garage occupants, hit a few news items like the neo-M1 concept from BMW, Suzuki's content addition to the SX4, and the unveiling of the new Mazda6. Most importantly, we burn a healthy amount of minutes on the new Knight Rider suckfest. We also take a few emails from our podcast at autoblog dot com address. Thanks for your hour and seven minutes!
SUBSCRIBE to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes ADDthe Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator DOWNLOAD the show now
Truth be told, the Autoblog team is split on whether or not we like the M1 Hommage Concept that was unveiled at the Concorso d'Eleganza at Villa d'Este this past weekend. Some of us claim that it's genius baked in a car-shaped pan, while the rest would rather stare at flame surfacing, Chris Bangle's ignominious contribution to automotive design, until their eyes start bleeding. Regardless, it creates discussion, and to facilitate the talk we have BMW Design Director Adrian van Hooydonk on camera after the jump talking about the car and its inspiration, the original M1.
Though the video after the jump is over eight minutes long, you'll want to watch it all the way through to catch footage of the original M1 that was used for the photo shoot being thrashed on-track.
Click above for a high-res gallery of the BMW M1 Hommage
BMW's supercar icon, the M1, blew out the candles at the Concorso d'Eleganza at Villa d'Este this weekend. In honor of the car's thirtieth birthday, BMW rolled out the new BMW M1 Hommage, a concept/design study that pays tribute to the original M1 and shows what could be possible if BMW were to produce a new mid-engined sports car. Follow the jump for the breakdown.
UPDATE: The BMW M1 Homage has now been officially unveiled! Click here for full coverage and a high-res gallery.
This year's Concorso d'Eleganza at Villa d'Este has its public day tomorrow, which is when the world will presumably get its first look at the new BMW M1 concept, a stunning, modern take on Munich's original supercar that is part of Bimmer's 30th anniversary celebration of the classic machine. The private exhibition took place today, however, and the guys at Asphalte.ch -- they were the first with live shots of the Lamborghini LP560-4 earlier this year -- have once again scored a coup, snapping the new, copper-colored M1 concept in all its glory, both alone and alongside its forebears. We expect to have a lot more on this car tomorrow (assuming a press kit will be released sometime overnight), but for now, head to Asphalte.ch to see more shots of the car under the lights. Hey BMW, just pull the trigger and greenlight a production version already, because this thing is awesome.
Click above for high-res gallery of the Concept 1-Series tii
We've known that BMW has plans to revive the tii series name ever since the automaker unveiled the Concept 1-Series tii at the Tokyo Motor Show. While we don't have anything as official as a press release from the Munich-based automaker, CAR online got BMW chief Norbert Reithofer to fess up that tii models are on their way. What we don't know, however, is whether they will be equipment packages that include upgraded mechanicals, perhaps that can be ordered a la carte, or full fledged models that have been fleshed out by BMW engineers. Reithofer did indicate that the 1-Series and 3-Series will be first in line for the tii treatment, and that subsequently an M model of the 1-Series is not being planned.
Over the past 20 years, BMW has managed to back up its claim of building Ultimate Driving Machines despite each of its cars growing in size and gaining weight with each new generation. It's done this largely by adding bigger, more powerful engines to its cars. With new CAFE standards demanding more fuel efficient vehicles in the U.S., and BMW already indicating that cutting cylinders to help meet those standards is a distinct possibility, the tii ethos of subtracting weight and focusing on handling more than passing power seems like the most probable path down which BMW will run.
It's been two weeks since our last podcast -- we tried to do one last week, but technical difficulties scuttled the effort. With that in mind, we packed some extra content into Autoblog Podcast #93. It's the usual rollicking good time where we discuss our current Autoblog Garage occupants, hit a few news items like the neo-M1 concept from BMW, Suzuki's content addition to the SX4, and the unveiling of the new Mazda6. Most importantly, we burn a healthy amount of minutes on the new Knight Rider suckfest. We also take a few emails from our podcast at autoblog dot com address. Thanks for your hour and seven minutes!
New KITT Attack Mode revealed at Comic Con
London 2008: Honda OSM concept roadster says, "Cheerio!"
London 2008: Lotus unveils the Evora
2010 Chevy Camaro - Official Details and Images
2010 Chevy Camaro - LIVE from the reveal
First Drive: Maserati Quattroporte S in Europe
First Drive: 2008 MINI Cooper S JCW
In the Autoblog Garage:2009 Nissan GT-R
North American Exclusive First Drive: Alfa MiTo
First Drive: 2009 Kia Borrego
