This 1979 BMW M1 Procar Would Grace Any Car Collection

“Stupid” would probably be an apt descriptor for the cost of this particular BMW, seeing as the Bavarian brand doesn’t really make anything else like it today. The BMW M4 might be close, seeing as it’s got two doors and is used for GT car racing, but that’s just about where the similarities end. This is a very, very special BMW M1 Procar, and it has ties to F1 written all over its history.

The car is even for sale, but it’s one of those “if you have to ask” type deals. We’re sure Henderson Fellowes (via Classic Driver) will tell you the price if you give them a ring, but you’ll probably want to be sitting down for that. Should you be able to take that number on both feet, you’ll be happy to know you’d even be able to take it racing. This one’s got a freshly-rebuilt engine, a current FIA Historic Technical Passport, and some spare parts that probably cost more than a Honda Civic.

Let’s talk about a little bit of that history. This particular Procar was built by F1 team Osella Squadra Corse and is one of only two to be delivered to the BMW Italia team. It’s won at Zolder back in 1979, piloted by Elio de Angelis, but the car’s American history is where things get interesting. Juan Pablo Montoya’s nephew (and F1 driver) Diego Montoya bought the car after it had won 12 out of the 16 races it entered for the IMSA GT Championship back in ’81.

After that, and a few more owners, it fell into the hands of another ex-Formula 1 driver: Gerhard Berger. Apparently, after taking possession, Berger had the car serviced by BMW M in Munich. After his stewardship, the car made its way to the UK, where it currently lives. It made a number of appearances at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, too, so you know it’s at least in working order.

And the sum of those working parts is something pretty special. Back in the day, M fitted the car with a 3.5-liter inline-six engine, a close approximation of what you could also get in the road car. In race trim, the Procar M1s made around 470 hp depending on regulations. In Group 5, that number could sometime climb north of 1,000 hp, but it’s unlikely this car ever saw such numbers. Regardless, that 470 hp and 287 lb-ft of torque made for a healthy 192 mph top speed.

In short, for your as-yet-unspecified sum of money, you’re getting a lot of car with a lot of history behind it. Not knowing the price is a downer, but some reference points are out there. On the German market, you’re paying north of $800,000 for a clean Procar with some history. In the US, we found Bring A Trailer records indicating a road car had sold for $561,000. But given the F1 ties, this one is probably “more than you can afford, pal.”