The BMW M1 Procar was a racing version of the iconic M1 Supercar built for the short-lived One-Make series. Only a handful of originals were made, but one of the mechanics working on them was able to recreate some of the spare parts.
As described in the video from BMW, Fritz started buying Wagner parts until he had everything from the smallest nuts and bolts to the whole body shell. Then he began to assemble them into a whole car. The video did not specify, but Wagner’s workshop appears to have at least three cars. This is a negligible spread of the M1 Procar population.
The Procar series lasted only two seasons – 1979 and 1980 – but proved popular because it had the same Formula 1 driver in the same device. Nicki Lauda won the 1979 Championship and Nelson Pickett won in 1980. The Wagner Pickett championship-winning car owner and said in the video that he was willing to sell it to the former F1 champion.
Wagner also owns the original BMW M1 prototype built by Lamborghini. BMW originally partnered with an Italian firm on the engineering of the M1, but it eventually dissolved. In the video, Wagner mentions that he wants to convert the prototype to run on hydrogen.
BMW originally planned to race the M1 in the FIA Group 5 class, but after changing the rules for the number of road cars needed to accommodate FIA race cars, the Automaker chose to start the Procar series instead. In total, approximately 453 road cars and Procar race cars were built.
The M1 was not as successful as the road or the race car. But it remains an iconic design and has also seeded BMW’s M section. The original E28-generation BMW M5 used an evolution of its inline-6 engine.