The BMW M1 Procar was a racing version of the iconic M1 supercar built for a short lived one-make series. Only a small number of originals were built, but one of the mechanics who worked on them has managed to recreate some from spare parts.
As described in the video from BMW, Fritz Wagner began purchasing parts until he had everything from the smallest nuts and bolts to entire body shells. He then set about assembling them into complete cars. The video doesn’t specify, but there appear to be at least three cars in Wagner’s workshop. That’s a not-insignificant expansion of the M1 Procar population.
The Procar series ran for just two seasons—1979 and 1980—but proved popular as it featured Formula 1 drivers in identical machinery. Niki Lauda won the 1979 championship and Nelson Piquet won in 1980. Wagner owns Piquet’s championship-winning car and says in the video that he’s willing to sell it to the former F1 champion.
Wagner also owns the original BMW M1 prototype that was built by Lamborghini. BMW originally partnered with the Italian firm on engineering of the M1, but that eventually dissolved. In the video, Wagner mentions wanting to convert the prototype to run on hydrogen.
BMW originally planned to race the M1 in the FIA Group 5 class, but after the FIA changed the rules for the number of road cars needed to homologate the race cars, the automaker opted to start the Procar series instead. In total, an estimated 453 road cars and Procar race cars were built.
The M1 wasn’t a success as a road or a race car. But it remains an iconic design and also seeded BMW’s M division. An evolution of its inline-6 engine was used in the original E28-generation BMW M5.