F1 Legend Niki Lauda’s BMW M1 Is Heading to Auction

A BMW M1 built for and owned by legendary Formula 1 racer Niki Lauda is heading to auction via Mecum next month—and it could fetch almost $700,000.

The marque began production of the M1—its first car with an M badge—in 1978, and went on to produce 453 examples in total, including just 399 for the road and most of the rest for motorsport. The M1 heading for auction is one of the road-going versions, and it was given to Lauda for winning the 1979 BMW M1 Procar Championship, a racing series that took place concurrently with the 1979 Formula 1 season in Europe.

The M1 is powered by a 3.5-liter inline six-cylinder engine making 266 horsepower, mated to a 5-speed ZF manual transmission. The model was also BMW’s first mid-engine car, with that power produced behind the heads of the driver and passenger for a top speed of 165 mph. And if that wedge-shaped exterior seems familiar, that’s because Italdesign’s Giorgetto Giugiaro, of Lotus Esprit S1 and DMC Delorean fame, was also the mind behind the M1’s look.

Artist Walter Maurer painted this M1’s “Motorsport Tri-color stripes” by hand; he also signed the auto, which is an official “BMW Art Car.” This model hasn’t been stuffed in a garage, either; Mecum says the odometer reads 20,350 kilometers, or around 12,645 miles. The M1 has been in the U.S. since it was shipped here in 1987 and was shown in 2017 at the Hillsborough Concours.

Lauda is considered one of the greatest F1 drivers to ever do it, winning three drivers’ championships and competing against the likes of James Hunt for the 1976 drivers’ championship in what is still the most dramatic Formula 1 season of all time. Hunt beat Lauda by a single point that year, after a horrific crash left Lauda badly injured and scarred for life.

Lauda’s M1 will be sold in January at Mecum’s Kissimmee auction. The car is currently estimated to fetch between $625,000 and $675,000 (roughly what M1s have sold for recently at Bring A Trailer), though Mecum will be hoping for a bit more premium because of the Lauda connection.

Click here for more photos of Niki Lauda’s BMW M1.