One to Buy: ex-Joe Crevier 1980 BMW M1 Procar
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Although BMW’s Group 4 M1 is best remembered for the Procar series from which it took its name, once a much-delayed homologation process had been rubber stamped, the model did go on to have a successful career at World Championship level as well as in domestic series like IMSA and the DRM. A handful of chassis were even purchased exclusively for non-Procar events such as number 4301195 which is currently on offer at the Sam Hancock showroom in Petersfield, Hampshire.
Completed in January 1980, chassis 4301195 was sold to Californian privateer, Jo Crevier, who wanted an M1 to contest the 1981 IMSA Championship.
Initially with rising star Al Unser Jr. as co-driver, Crevier scored four GTO class podiums in his first four races with chassis 4301195. The pairing had their last outing as team-mates at the Road America 500 mile contest in August ‘81, after which Crevier was partnered by a series of different co-drivers but only collected one more class podium (at the Pocono 500 mile race with Tom Winters).
Abruptly, despite having put in some promising performances during the 1982 season, Crevier decided to quit motor racing mid-way through the year. The M1 was sold to Don Walker of Dallas who ran it sparingly, taking in just half a dozen IMSA events over the next three years.
More recently, ahead of the 2013 season, chassis 4301195 was acquired by a German collector who commissioned Graber Sportsgarage (who had restored the car between 2006 and 2009) to carry out a no expense spared race preparation. This work included installation of a new engine fitted during the winter of 2018.
Chassis 4301195 was sold to its current custodian in 2020 who entrusted the car to Aldo Riti at Riverside Performance Engineering for adjustment to road-usable specification. All reversible, this involved fitting a passenger seat and racing harness, 18-inch wheels, road tyres, bespoke dampers, new lights, an electronic hand-brake and a speedometer. The M1 was road registered in the UK during 2023 and has not been used much since.
Today, the car is back on its 16-inch racing wheels and wears the red livery used by Crevier during the 1981 IMSA season. Chassis 4301195 is accompanied by two sets of spare 16-inch racing wheels, the road-usable 18-inch wheels mounted with fresh Michelin tyres and the original racing springs / dampers that meet the FIA’s HTP requirements.
