What's this about?
Proud owners collecting their new cars from BMW Welt 'Premiere' in Munich are nothing new; last year 21,000 people did just that. None of those people picked up a restored 1979 BMW M1 Procar racing car. Masakuni Hosobuchi, President of the BMW Club Japan, did just that - taking delivery of his car, fresh from its restoration by BMW Classic.
What's a BMW M1 Procar?
Just 54 BMW M1 Procars were built for a racing championship that supported the Formula 1 series in 1979 and 1980. Top F1 competitors such as Niki Lauda and Nelson Piquet competed against private drivers. Masakuni Hosobuchi's car, entitled "Yes to the Nürburgring," is painted with images of the famous race track; in 1980 Nelson Piquet and Hans Stuck drove the car to a class win and third place overall at the 1,000km race on the Nordschleife circuit.
Masakuni is an avid collector of BMW M vehicles and commented on his freshly renovated car: "BMWs are my great passion, and the Procar definitely will get a place of honour in my collection. It was very important to me to restore the car to its former glory after so many years of racing. And who could have done a better job than the manufacturers themselves? It also gives me great pleasure to pick up this classic car right here at BMW Welt, amidst all the new vehicles".
So is this car destined for a quiet life now?
We don't know, but the car did get taken for several laps of the circuit that is part of the Premiere platform at BMW Welt. The sight and sound of the car in action was enough to draw applause from the gathered crowd.
John Lambert - 26 Nov 2014