We came across what is quite possibly, one of the rarest and most sought after production BMWs, the iconic M1 mid-engined sports coupe of which only 451 examples were built between 1978 and 1981. This particular M1 is a 1980 model with only 26,999 miles on the odometer and it’s offered for sale for $250,000 by a dealer located in Scotts Valley, California.

The first and only mid-engined production BMW to date, was developed in partnership with Lamborghini and styled by the legendary Giorgetto Guigiaro. It was powered by a naturally aspirated 3.5-liter straight-six delivering 277-horspower hooked up to a five-speed manual gearbox, and it could reach a top speed of 260 km/h or 162 mph.

When it went on sale in Germany in 1978, the BMW M1 was priced at around 100,000 DM (approx. US$45,000).

In April 2008, BMW celebrated the M1’s 30th anniversary by introducing the supercar’s modern-day successor with the Homage Concept. Unfortunately, the Bavarian company has no plans to build a production version of the concept.

Link: Canepa