One to Buy: ex-Peter Gartemann 1987 BMW M1 AHG Studie Art Car
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The right shape, the right time and a manufacturer that supported artistic endeavour like no other. All of it meant BMW’s E26 M1 styled by wedge king Giorgetto Giugiaro became ground zero for Art Car expressionism.
In 1982, Peter Gartemann, the president and owner of German BMW dealer AHG, decided to get in on the act by creating a seriously uprated, very low volume line of M1s, each of which would be finished in a bespoke livery carried out by the renowned German paint shop of Hermann Altmiks.
In homage to the Procar variant, the M1 AHG Studie came with a customer apron / spoiler / skirt package, 16-inch three-piece BBS wheels (widened to 8-inches up front and 9 at the rear), a 350bhp power kit, special racing clutch and a new free flow exhaust system. AHG ultimately had to get fresh German type approval owing to the extent of the upgrades. This forced the price up considerably and only around ten copies were built.
On November 20th, perhaps the most spectacular AHG Studie M1 of all will be going under the hammer during RM Sotheby’s sale in Munich. Built for and retained by company boss, Peter Gartemann, chassis TP8220526 was assembled using a leftover M1 bodyshell supplied by BMW (originally numbered WBS59910004301461).
The body features futuristic abstract geometry mixed with typical 1980s postmodern graphic design. AHG hallmarks are located around the car along with the “altmiks lackdesign” signature under the left-hand tail light. Inside, a super high end audio system was added.
According to RM Sotheby’s “The car bears a 17-digit VIN stamp ending 01461—thus falling outside of the BMW M1 chassis numbering sequence that ended with a car made in February 1981 holding the BMW chassis number 01460, with production attributed to AHG rather than BMW. A statement within a previous, period Fahrzeugbrief (available to view on file) roughly translates as: ‘Vehicle was made with original spare parts and bare body shell to the same optical and technical standard as the BMW M1… vehicle is equipped with AHG body kit… vehicle lowered with parts from BMW Motorsport… identification number is newly stamped, existing number WBS59910004301461.”
“While most of the cars were modified by AHG in the early 1980s, this M1 was duly registered in Germany in September 1987 with the chassis number TP8220526, as stamped on its chassis frame. The M1 was later positioned front and centre as the poster star of AHG’s campaign to promote its car, featuring on a leaflet available to view on file.”
