Back in 2006, the folks at The WerkShop began work on a restoration project of a BMW M1. The M1 in question wasn’t in great shape, had a significant amount of wear and tear and needed almost all of its major components replaced. It’s a pretty massive project to undertake but the folks at the WerkShop weren’t deterred and went to work. They documented the entire build with a series of photos in the video below.
The entire car needed to be stripped down. The powertrain was pulled out and rebuilt, both engine and transmission. The suspension and subframes were taken out, with the subframes repaired and the suspension replaced. Every single part that wasn’t brand new was fixed, cleaned and painted so it looked brand new. The underbody of the BMW M1 started out looking old but ended up looking as if it rolled off the showroom floor in 1979.
The body was also stripped down, as was the interior. The red paint was stripped off down to bare metal and the body was repaired and sanded smooth. Once that was done, the bare body was primed and painted. While I’m not a huge fan of the color choice, grey with a sort of candy shell finish. It’s not really the right color of a Giugiaro-styled exotic BMW. It should have been re-painted red.
Inside, the entire cabin was redone, with the seats reupholstered and everything properly cleaned. It all looks quite good and very period ’80s. I don’t know about you but I love these ’80s steering wheels, they just looks so perfectly simple and make me wanna drive.
Two year later, the BMW M1 project was finished and it looked brand new. The transformation is quite impressive, with a very old, very beat up car looking as if we transported back to 1979 again. What’s even more impressive is that, when in pristine condition and fully restored, Giugiaro’s design is still stunning all these years later.
