Article Summary
- BMW built four pre-production 1M Coupes, all finished in white. Three were crushed after serving as engineering and testing vehicles.
- The surviving car was repainted in Valencia Orange at BMW's Woodcliff Lake headquarters just before heading to the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
- It served as the race's pace car, appeared on the cover of Road & Track, and starred in three commercials for BMW Canada.
BMW nearly lost one of the most historically significant examples of its first modern compact M car before it could enter the brand’s history. The Petersen Automotive Museum has shared the story of a pre-production 1M Coupe that escaped the crusher and became a star of the model’s early marketing campaign.
In a new YouTube video, BMW North America veteran Thomas Plucinsky takes a closer look at chassis 708, a Valencia Orange coupe with a history that goes well beyond its eye-catching paint job. The car appeared on the cover of Road & Track, paced the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and starred in BMW Canada commercials. Not bad for a car originally meant to be destroyed.
Before the 1 Series M Coupe arrived in late 2010, BMW built four pre-production examples, all finished in Alpine White. As usual, most wore full camouflage and served as engineering and emissions-testing vehicles before BMW crushed them. However, one car thankfully escaped that fate because BMW North America had other plans for it.
From Alpine White To Valencia Orange
With BMW having decided on Valencia Orange as the 1M’s signature launch color and time running out, BMW USA quickly repainted the car at its headquarters in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. According to Plucinsky, the paint had barely dried when the coupe headed south to Florida for the Rolex 24 at Daytona in early January. That rushed paint job explains the white patches visible beneath some stone chips today. It also explains why the underside of the hood is white, as BMW didn’t have time to repaint everything to production-car standards.
The trip from New Jersey to Florida became an early social media experiment. The driver shared the car’s whereabouts along the route, hoping enthusiasts would show up to see it in person. The idea worked: fans spotted the bright orange coupe and posted photos along the way.
The car then landed a starring role at Daytona. When broadcasters needed an interesting vehicle for a race feature, BMW offered its trusty 1M Coupe. IMSA subsequently fitted it with a roof-mounted light bar and a rear-facing camera so it could serve as the pace car during the Rolex 24.
A lengthy overnight fog kept the car on track for roughly three hours. The coupe handled most of the pacing duty, while the rear-facing camera delivered live television footage of the action behind it.
From Almost Scrapped To Magazine Cover Star
The Daytona appearance was only the beginning. Road & Track magazine approached BMW about using the 1M Coupe for a cover story, but the automaker didn’t yet have its regular press cars available. That left the pre-production orange car as the only option.
BMW had already replaced the original headlights with the correct xenon units for the US market, bringing the car closer to production specification. In fact, BMW eventually brought nearly everything on this 1M up to production spec, including the taillights.
There was still a problem, though. BMW agreed to lend the car on the condition that the magazine wouldn’t photograph under the hood. Naturally, Road & Track published a picture showing the very area BMW had hoped to keep out of sight. Honestly, I probably would’ve done the same. As you can imagine, colleagues in Munich weren’t happy, and the BMW North America employee who arranged the loan took the heat.
In hindsight, though, that imperfect engine bay has become part of the car’s story. The white paint reminds us this isn’t an ordinary production 1M Coupe, but a development car that helped introduce the model to the world.
The car later appeared in three commercials for BMW Canada, including scenes with plenty of drifting. It also appeared at Bimmerfest, a gathering of BMW enthusiasts held in California. By then, fans recognized the car from its magazine cover and its appearance at Daytona. When they saw the white engine bay, they knew exactly which 1M Coupe they were looking at.
BMW built just 740 examples for the North American market, and this car is counted among them, despite being a pre-production vehicle that never went on sale. Unsurprisingly, Valencia Orange was the most popular color, followed by Alpine White and Black Sapphire.
This Sole-Surviving 1M Prototype Is Imperfectly Perfect
Perhaps the most remarkable part of the story is that the car survived at all. As a pre-production vehicle, it was destined to be recycled after completing its development and marketing duties. However, a few people within BMW North America argued that its history made it too important to destroy. They eventually convinced the right people to keep it in the collection, where it remains today.
Ultimately, this car was supposed to be crushed, but it became one nobody wanted to lose.
Video: Petersen Automotive Museum / YouTube
