Originally Posted by gengar

The M1 is a fantastic car, a real collector's item - not least because it's the only production mid-engined BMW ever, and also a homologation car (although I guess it could be said the LFA is incredibly special as a reverse-homologation car during development!). Of course, many supercars of that time were also homologation cars, like the 512. The M1 doesn't fetch 2000GT prices, but it's not as old and had a bigger production run, so it's value definitely helps to show how special people consider it to be.

Originally Posted by gengar

275ish hp from a 3.5 in-line 6 is amazing for the the time. Of course, the 308 made probably close to that from a smaller 3L V8 (rather higher specific displacement) and was lighter, and the 512 at the time was making an insane amount of hp but of course a much bigger engine and twice the cylinders. It was an admirable effort for sure and definitely getting close to the Ferrari/Porsche/AM offerings of the time - probably on a purely performance basis the argument could be made it was approaching the benchmarks of the time, but I don't really think it's that comparable to the LFA and what Lexus has achieved with it relative to the current industry.

Originally Posted by gengar

Naturally, most BMW fans of the current day completely gloss over the fact that the M1 was designed from the ground up by Lamborghini. I dunno, that makes it more special in my mind.