BMW’s M1 Restoration Dials The Odometer Back To Zero

BMW is technically working on a supercar. Before you get your hopes up about a follow-up to the M1, that’s not actually the case. Instead, it’s revisiting one of the 399 road-going cars it built between 1978 and 1981. This is one of the white examples assembled by coachbuilder Baur back in the day.

This E26 has lived a troubled life, having sustained damage in an accident at the 2013 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. For the past year, BMW Classic has been using social media to share details about the restoration process. The latest update reveals the M1 is coming along nicely and will effectively be a brand-new car. Well, at least in terms of mileage.

The odometer has been reset to zero (actually, one) to highlight that the rebuild will make this M1 as good as new. While that might come as a surprise, it’s been done before. Last December, Porsche revealed a fully restored Carrera GT with zero miles on the clock.

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As was the case with Zuffenhausen’s iconic V10 supercar, this BMW M1 has been completely dismantled. As you can imagine, it’s been a labor-intensive project, especially considering BMW needed a full year to restore Ronnie Fieg’s Techno Violet M1. The company remains tight-lipped about how it sourced all the necessary parts and whether some had to be remanufactured.

Although BMW Classic supports E26 owners, this full-scale restoration is on a different level entirely. Bringing the mid-engine supercar back to its original specification more than 40 years after it was built is no easy task. More details will likely emerge once the car returns to the road.

Hopefully, it will be ready in time for the 2026 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, 13 years after it crashed at the same event during a scenic drive. The freshly painted fiberglass body panels penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro appear ready to be refitted, so we’re hoping to hear the M88-powered machine roar again soon.