Record-setting BMW supercar that’s extremely rare was found just sitting in a barn

A rare, almost one-off, record-breaking BMW M1 was recently uncovered in a garage in London.

BMW only produced a handful of these cars between the late 1970s and early 1980s, and this one is special for a very specific reason.

It was originally modified to achieve a speed record.

The record is unconfirmed, but that’s still enough to make this care truly valuable and rarer than rare.

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The story behind the record-breaking BMW M1

BMW produced 453 M1s between 1978 and 1981.

The shape of the car may be unusual, considering BMW has rarely made mid-engined cars, but the engine itself isn’t.

It’s a 3.5-liter inline-6, a staple for BMW, producing 277 horsepower.

The ‘standard’ model was capable of reaching 165mph (265km/h), but this one was modified to produce 400+.

The goal was to hit 300km/h – or 186mph, a record allegedly set in October 1981.

To be honest, details about the record are a bit hazy, but that doesn’t really change the historical significance of this rare find.

What lies ahead for this model?

Due to the unusual shape and layout, the M1 is probably not in line with what we consider a BMW today.

But, possibly exactly for that reason, the M1 is on every collector’s radar.

A couple of years ago, Paul Walker’s BMW M1 headed to auction, and it ended up selling for more money than expected.

The BMW M Vision Next was unveiled as a potential testbed for future new models, including an M1 successor, but that hasn’t materialized yet.

We should also point out that now that everyone is making electric cars, talking about engine layout has somehow lost its meaning.

BMW still has time to make something reminiscent of the M1.