Team Schnitzer

The motorsport team bearing their family name was founded in the early Sixties by Josef and Herbert Schnitzer.  It began as a development of the car sales/workshop business of their stepfather, Karl Lamm, in Freilassing, Germany, north-west of Salzburg.  This had been started by Herbert Schnitzer Snr. before WWII, developing over time into a dealership which represented both Ford and Opel, (and much later, Fiat).  Lamm took it over when Schnitzer died in the late Forties.  Of his stepsons, it was initially Josef who led the way on the track, in a Fiat Abarth 1000 Bialbero, competing in hill-climbing events during the ’63 season.   That included a victory at the OMK Junioren Pokal event at Freiburg, thus earning for Carlo Abarth one of the numerous win bonus payments from Fiat which were vital to Abarth throughout the Sixties – see https://davidbuckdenlooksback.blogspot.com/2026/04/one-last-fabulous-zagato-abarth-750.html   Already a BMW fan – he had briefly worked at the Munich factory in a vehicle proving role – Josef opted for a 1800 Ti in ’64.  Success with that encouraged the brothers to incorporate the BMW franchise into their business in ’65, while at the same time, running in the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft, (DRM), he finished sixth in its championship.  In ’66, with a 2000 Ti, he attained his career peak by becoming joint champion, (with Herbert Schultze), driving an Alfa Romeo 1600 GTA.  He then did what can be a racing driver’s toughest challenge – he retired while ‘on top,’ turning his full attention to co-management, with Herbert, of Schnitzer Motorsport, the team’s name formally adopted in ’67.  This post refers only to the Freilassing-based team – the Aachen-located enterprise, AC Schnitzer, focused on automotive tuning and founded by Herbert Schnitzer and Willi Kohl in ’87, is not covered.

 

Schnitzer Motorsport swiftly confirmed its potential by running Ernst Furtmayr in the European Hillclimb Championship with such expertise that he took the championship in ’68 and ’69 with a 2002 Ti, switching to a 2800 CS for ’70 to clinch the title for the third year in a row. And for ’71, Walter Brun took over and also became the year’s champion in a Schnitzer 2800 CS.

Ernst Furtmayr, BMW 2002Ti  EHC, ’69  Courtesy Artur Fenzlau/Erwin Jelinek

Indeed, ’71 truly became a significant season for Schnitzer Motorsport, with increased competitiveness in the European Touring Car Championship, (ETCC), resulting from the teams’ adoption of and effective modification of the Group 2 BMW E9 coupe in compliance with the regulations for the championship’s Division 3, (utilising a 2,996 cc version of the 6 cylinder M52 engine, which developed around 15 bhp more than that extracted from Alpina’s version). The other upgraded competitiveness factor was the quality of the drivers eager to drive for Schnitzer having perceived the potential of the car – Dieter Quester, Rauno Aaltonen, Helmut Kelleners and Gerrard Larrousse, in addition to Ernst Furtmayr. Quester scored a landmark international victory for the team by taking the Zandvoort Trophy, defeating the Ford factory’s potent Capri RS 2600 squad.

Quester leads the Capris of Glemser and Marko, Zandvoort, August ’71  Courtesy Paul Rutten

As the decade progressed, Karl Lamm’s son, known as Charly, was appointed as Team Manager. Under his leadership Schnitzer continued to build expertise and its reputation as a leading team in the Touring Car domain.  However, its ambition had also developed, and by ’75 embraced a desire to succeed in the different realm of single-seater racing. Initially, this saw the team focused on the preparation of BMW engines for the Formula 2 category. This was facilitated by good synergies between the DRM cars programme and Schnitzer’s engine supplier role, both utilising the 2.0 litre BMW engine. This 4 cylinder powerplant, originally designated M10 and credited to Alex von Falkenhausen, started out with a 1.5 litre capacity in ’59, and it had gone into production in ’62. It was an integral part of the Neue Klasse models programme, commonly held to have ‘saved’ BMW. The M10 was updated by Paul Rosche, becoming an even more key feature for BMW as in its M12 guise it was capable to delivering exceptional power outputs, culminating in the turbocharged version which powered Nelson Piquet’s Brabham BT52 to the ’83 drivers F1 World Championship. Its M12/13 engine was said to be giving over 800 bhp in qualifying that season – and, subsequently, in ’86, around 1,450 bhp! For Formula 2, Schnitzer designed and made its own twin-cam, 16 valve cylinder head, creating the 20-4 engine. With Kugelfischer fuel injection, the 20-4 ran with a compression ratio of 11.3:1, making 285 bhp at 9,200 rpm and 353 Nm torque at 6,200 rpm. The engine was in ’75 highly successful in chassis made by Martini, Elf and March. French driver, Jacques Laffite won 7 of the 14 rounds in a Martini Mk.16, taking the title and confirming the dominance of the Schnitzer engine.

F2 Martini-Schnitzer of Jacques Laffite, ‘75  Courtesy Benoit Flandre

The following year, Schnitzer secured an agreement with Toyota to prepare engines for the Japanese manufacturer’s rally activities in Europe. With both parties satisfied with the results, Toyota committed to a programme geared to a European sales promotional objective – participation in the high profile German DRM series with a Schnitzer-developed, turbocharged Celica Liftback. Built by Schnitzer to Group 5 specification to race in the DRM’s 1st Division, its 2.0 litre engine was based on the 18R-G unit, though with modifications as well proven on the BMW-based 20-4, i.e. 16 valves and Kugelfischer injection. It was however the addition of a KKK turbocharger which gave rise to eager anticipation of on-track success, as this endowed the car with 560 bhp of propulsive power, while body/chassis modifications enabled a significantly lowered kerb weight of just 860 Kg.

Toyota Celica Liftback Turbo  Courtesy Fastestlaps.com

The ’77 DRM season was however over halfway through before the Celica was ready, making its debut at Hockenheim, with Harald Ertl at the wheel, in July.  That fact alone probably confirmed that the whole development/preparation process had been far too hurried, so it was not surprising that the car was clearly outpaced by the several Porsche 935s with which it was competing.  Equally, an early retirement, on lap 5, was not unexpected.  At the next round, at Zolder, Ertl was again an early race retirement.  Subsequently, at the Nurburgring, he was at least able to record the car’s first finish, but only in fourth place, again unable to match the speed of the 935 contingent.  

Undaunted, Schnitzer wheeled the Celica out for a second season in the DRM.  By the end of ’78, however, it could be concluded that it had been a half-hearted effort.  Of eleven rounds, the Toyota took part in only five.  Driver, Rolf Stommelen, got the car to the finish in only one – at Mainz-Finthen – taking 8^th place.  Meanwhile, Ertl, who had endured a similarly miserable time the year before, won five rounds in a Schnitzer 320 Turbo, enough to see him clinch the championship.

Toyota Celica Liftback Turbo, ‘78

Harald Ertl, BMW 320 Turbo, ’78 DRM champion  Courtesy Bonhams Cars

The 320 remained a competitive proposition as the new decade began.  Hans Joachim Stuck demonstrated this at the ’80 Macau Guia Race.  Schnitzer provided the car run the previous year for Manfred Winkelhock, but with a normally aspirated engine in place of the turbo unit.  It had been driven at some ’80 events by Harald Grohs while still turbocharged.  Stuck took over around mid-season and was entered for the Asian event in November.  He took pole and then, the day previous to the Guia race, experienced a major engine blow-up.  After replacement, however, the car ran well enough for victory in the race.

Hans Joachim Stuck, Macau, ‘80

 

As the Eighties progressed however, Schnitzer’s focus switched to the BMW 6 Series Coupe.  The team’s reworking of the 635 CSi as a Group A Touring Car proved highly successful.  By ’82 the TWR Jaguar was seen as the car to beat, so BMW set to work to get the E24 635 homologated with a build programme of 5,000 cars, (5,118 in the event).  The regulations allowed for substantial modifications, including to the engine, which in normal road trim generated around 215 bhp.  To compete in Group A an output of near 300 bhp was seen as necessary.  To meet this objective, BMW turned to Alpina for a pure race version of the M30, (while other road-orientated 635 CSis utilised M90 and M88/3 variants).  The Buchloe-based tuner responded with modifications which took power up to over 290 bhp.  As with the M1 programme, BMW managed the creation and running of the works cars by complementing the work assigned to M Sport Division (transmission/running gear).  This took the form of a co-ordination of contributory development and manufacturing work by ‘outside’ specialists: Alpina (engine), Karmann (chassis/body), and Schnitzer, (assembly, preparation, race running).

Seen below is chassis #RA1-07. As described by ultimatecarpage.com, it ‘debuted with an outright victory in the Monza 500 km in the hands of Carlo Rossi and Dieter Quester. A regular podium finisher, it won again at the Nürburgring round of the European Touring Car Championship with Quester and Manfred Winkelhock behind the wheel. Schnitzer ended the year as European Champions and this chassis was retired from contemporary racing.'

#RA-07, Monza, ’83, Quester/Rossi  Courtesy BMW  Courtesy BMW

Fielded for the factory in Original Teile livery by Schnitzer Motorsport, this 635 CSi became a regular podium finisher and it won again at the Nürburgring round of the European Touring Car Championship with Quester and Manfred Winkelhock behind the wheel. Schnitzer ended the year as European Champions and this chassis was retired from contemporary racing. Retained by BMW, it is today part of the BMW Classic collection and regularly shown and demonstrated at events all over Europe.  Schnitzer fielded a second 635 CSi for Stuck and Walter Brun, finishing the season in 5^th place.  For ’84 the Schnitzer driver pairings were Stuck/Quester and Roberto Ravaglia/Gerhard Berger.  Despite such a strong driver line-up, the previous season’s success was not repeated.  However, it was one of the team who would soon come to personify the 1980s strength and competitiveness of the Schnitzer name – Ravaglia.  It was his victory, (in partnership with Berger and Surer), in ’85 at Spa, that saw a further elevation in the team’s standing, it being its first in a 24 hour event.  Adding to the kudos, a second Schnitzer 635 CSi crewed by Quester, Cecotto and Markus Oestreich was second, albeit 4 laps behind.

Winner, Spa 24 Hours, ‘85  Courtesy BMW

 

’86 saw a robust bounce back in the ETCC, Ravaglia taking the title by a margin of 8 points from Win Percy, who with Tom Walkinshaw was highly competitive throughout the season in the Bastos Texaco Racing Team’s Rover Vitesse.  Meanwhile, Quester, Altfrid Heger and Thierry Tassin won a second successive Spa 24 Hours for Schnitzer.

'86 Spa 24 Hours – winner, Dieter Quester

’86 ETC champion, Ravaglia (with Emanuele Pirro)  Courtesy Forza Forums

With many excellent performances in both individual races and championships, there could be no complaints at Freilassing about the suitability of the E24 as a basis for a good performing/handling race car. However, there was a need for a further competitiveness upgrade for ’87, given the anticipated speed of the M3 model adopted by Linder Motorsport and the Ford Sierra RS Cosworths of both Eggenberger Motorsport and Jolly Club. Thus, Schnitzer also prepared BMW M3s for the new season. With one of these, Jean-Michel Martin, Didier Theys and Eric van de Poele gave Schnitzer its third successive Spa 24 Hours triumph, while Ravaglia and the team became Division 2 World Touring Car champions. The WTCC proved to be just a one-off in the era, mainly because of poor organisation which itself resulted in an unexpectedly small (15) field of entered cars, the main contenders being BMW, Ford and Alfa Romeo. The following year, focus reverted to the ETCC, and, again, Ravaglia was on top in the championship in a Schnitzer M3, and with Quester and Heger, chalked up yet another 24 Hours victory at Spa.

’87 WTCC – champion, Ravaglia, M3, at the Nurburgring  Courtesy BMW

’88 Ravaglia, M3 at Silverstone  Courtesy BMW

Schnitzer finished up the decade impressively. Ravaglia steered an M3 Evo to the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft, (DTM), championship and contributed to a 24 Hours of Nurburgring victory, while Johnny Cecotto became ‘89’s Italian Touring Car champion. There had been 11 rounds in the DTM and throughout Ravaglia had been in a close battle with the Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth of Klaus Niedzwiedz, eventually outscoring the Team Eggenberger star by just 11 points, with fellow Team Schnitzer driver, Fabien Giroix, in third place.

’89 Ravaglia, BMW M3 Evo, DTM champion  Courtesy BMW

That year BMW made 480 Johnny Cecotto Edition M3s.  These had some race car-like features including a 200 + bhp version of the S14 engine, front and rear spoilers and lightweight glass.

Johnny Cecotto Edition M3, ’89  Courtesy Stance Works

If Schnitzer had been pleased with its on-track exploits in the Eighties, they may well have moved on to being ecstatic about the following decade’s achievements.  Especially satisfying were the 24 Hour race victories at Spa in ’90 and ’95, at the Nurburgring in ’91 and ’98, and, most of all, Le Mans in ’99, (BMW V12 LMR, driven by Winkelhock, Yannick Dalmas and Pierluigi Martini).  As to Touring Car championships, Schnitzer took the Italian in ’90 and ‘91, (Ravaglia), Asia-Pacific ’94, (Winkelhock), Japan ’95, (Steve Soper), German Super ’95, (Winkelhock) and ’98, (Cecotto).  Also notable was a 1-2-3 at the ‘92 Macau Guia, (Pirro, Winkelhock, Ravaglia), and victory at the ‘99 12 Hours of Sebring, (Jörg Müller, JJ Lehto, Tom Kristensen).

’90 Spa 24 Hours  Courtesy Glyn Parham

'91 Nurburgring – M3 Evo 2  Courtesy © 2023 dailysportscar.com

’92 Macau – M3 Evo – 1-2-3

’99 Le Mans. The winning BMW V12 LMR #  Courtesy BimmerLife

 

Showing how the business had grown, this view of the team in ’99 speaks for itself

That ’99 triumph at Circuit de la Sarthe was attributed to ‘BMW Motorsport.’  This had become the Schnitzer team’s name on race entries and would remain in use intermittently for the rest of its active existence.  As the full-blown factory team, BMW Motorsport switched some of its focus to GT class racing in the U.S. and this resulted in its securing of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) in 2001.

Subsequently, the team was once again seen competing as ‘BMW Team Germany’ in the WTCC from ’05-’09.  This proved to be a highly rewarding programme, with many race victories recorded by drivers, Jörg Müller, Dirk Müller, and Augusto Farfus.  In ’05 both Jörg and Dirk Müller won 3 races each, with Dirk 2^nd and Jörg 5^th in the championship at year end.  Champion in ’05 was the UK BMW team and it repeated this achievement in both ’06 and ’07.  However, BMW Team Germany chalked up 5 wins in both ’06 and ’07, 3 in ’08 and 6 in ’09. 

From ’12-’16 focus moved to the DTM. Schnitzer driver Bruno Spengler secured the series title for himself and the Team and Manufacturer’s titles for Schnitzer and BMW respectively. Subsequently, Schnitzer ran the factory entries in the International GT Challenge, continuing to perform strongly and consistently, with, for example, a highlight Farfus win in the FIA GT World Cup, Macau, in ‘18, in a Schnitzer BMW M6 GT3.

’18 Schnitzer BMW M6 GT3, Macau  Courtesy BMW

Following the Macau win, Herbert Schnitzer Jnr. took over the teams’ management from Charly Lamm.  In ’20, success seemed likely to be ongoing, evidenced, for example, by a third place finish in the Nurburgring 24 Hours with a BMW M6 GT3 in the hands of Farfus, Jens Klingmann, Sheldon van der Linde and Martin Tomczyk.  However, in December of that year it was announced that BMW’s association with Schnitzer was at an end.  At the same time, a similar decision was made in regard to Team RBM.  With immediate effect, the development of a new BMW M4 GT3 and its running as from ’21 would be undertaken by BMW Team RMG, founded by Stefan Reinhold in 2010 and based at Niederzissen.  For Schnitzer it was the end.  Through its long standing dedication to a single ‘client,’ it had left itself vulnerable in the event that the client should decide ‘to go elsewhere.’  Equally, nonetheless, that focus/dedication had made for a highly successful collaboration and had enabled BMW to bask in the glory of a great many race and championship victories – the Munich giant had certainly had value for money!

Soon after the forgoing account was finalised, it was announced on 7^th June 2026 that, sadly, Herbert had died.

074 Abarth Simca GT 2000

 

The creation of a new, non-Fiat-derived model was for Abarth a significant step in mid-‘61.  The basis of the Abarth Simca 1300 GT is outlined in the Do Look Back post, A Bit of Scorpion Worship  . As pointed out there, neither the chassis nor the engine were developments of any existing Simca products.  Equally, at this point Abarth had completed its divorce from Zagato, confident to execute styling in-house and to entrust the construction of the bodywork to the carrozzeria, Beccaris & Teraschi S.n.c. in nearby Grugliasco.  The collaboration with Simca was supposed to benefit the French maker by allowing it in forward-looking mode to develop more sporting products – especially high performance engines - using the specialist expertise and knowledge available at Corso Marche.  However, for Abarth the immediate and very necessary pay-back was a steady supply from Poissy of the 1000 model floor pans on which the Mario Colucci-designed Abarth 1300 GT body, (initially made at Beccaris and subsequently at Sibano & Basano), was mounted.

Carlo Abarth tasked Lucano Focchi with design of a new engine to power the Abarth Simca.  Focchi was happy that the Abarth 982 cc block would make a good basis and be capable of enlarging to a capacity of 1288 cc.  The resulting Tipo 230-A unit featured three main bearings and as installed in the GT Coupe developed 90 bhp @ 6000 rpm – very similar performance to the Fiat Abarth 982 cc Tipo 229 which powered the Fiat Abarth 1000 Coupe, though this required 7100 rpm to reach maximum output.  Both these engines had twin cam heads.  A further, enlarged, Abarth Simca coupe road engine emerged in ’63 – the 1592 cc Tipo 235 (the first Abarth twin spark engine) giving 155 bhp @ 7400.  With this version the car adopted the revised ‘duck tail’ rear which contrasted markedly with the more ‘bulbous,’ and multi-louvred engine cover usually associated with the bodies made by Beccaris.  Meanwhile, a ‘Corsa’ 2.0 litre (1946 cc) model, Tipo 136, utilised the Tipo 236-SC engine, producing 177 bhp @ 6800 rpm.  In deference to the increased power ratings of these two higher capacity versions, the crankshaft was carried on five main bearings.  ’63 also saw an uprated engine for the 1300, Tipo 230-S, which generated 125 bhp.  A batch of one hundred 2.0 litre GTs were scheduled to be built for Appendix J Grand Touring category homologation purposes; how many actually were, is a matter for conjecture!  The FIA documentation cited 14^th January ’64 as the effective homologation date.

FIA Homologation document

Tipo 236 engine  Courtesy Berni Motore

In ’61 if anything of the Corso Marche enterprise symbolised its proprietor’s attitude towards life, it was the new models development programme.  Like Carlo’s personal outlook on life in general: so self-confident that it feared no opposition or interference, it was self-fuelled such that the more you asked of it, the more ready it was to take on even more; each new objective sparking the creation of yet another.  The more varied the ambitions became, the more additional variations were seen as possible and the more determined became the drive to achieve them.  Thus, as Carrozzeria Abarth took control of styling, a new bodybuilding contract was established with Beccaris, only for this to be swiftly superseded by another with Sibona & Bosano, which company built the bodies from ‘64.  The engine size constraint stemming from the use of the Fiat 600 unit as a basis was abolished with the new 1 litre capacity and this was optimised by the addition of a twin cam head option courtesy of the great Gioacchino Colombo, while, from within Corso Marche’s own headcount, Focchi came up with another addition to the range of engines with the 1288 cc unit primarily intended for the new Simca floor-based GT.  And within these development strands, four distinct generic product types emerged: 1) A ‘soft’ version for customers looking for the Abarth style rather than out and out performance, e.g. the Monomille GT; 2) (Ongoing), continuously evolving sporting cars of the ‘fast road’ type like the Bialbero coupes, both Fiat Abarth and Abarth Simca; 3) ‘Amateur,’ gentleman’s race car versions for competition in national grade circuit and hillclimb events, and, 4) Full race machines, close to the works cars’ specifications for supply to race entrants such as Jolly Club.

‘Early’ Abarth Simca 2000 GT – ‘shortnose,’ and no brake or engine bay cooling duct intakes.  Courtesy Ultimatespecs.com

During ’64 running changes were applied to the bodywork – two circular intakes for ducting to cool the front brakes, a rectangular additional intake running between these and below the level of the central elliptical intake, and circular intakes in the C pillar to increase air circulation in the engine bay.

Next iteration – still ‘shortnose’ but now with additional intakes. (#0046).  Courtesy en.wheelz.me

Further points of detail on #0046 are seen below:

For ’64 there were two more Abarth Simca GT 2000 versions.  In the January, a new 6 speed model was powered by the Tipo 236-S/A engine, tuned for 202 bhp.  In addition to the power increase, the car was a little lighter – at 665 Kg – resulting in a top speed capability of 168 mph.  A more radically revised variant appeared the following month.  The main new characteristic was a bodyshell largely still of aluminium construction, but now featuring a front clamshell in GRP.  This swiftly became known as the ‘longnose,’ a format which had been first seen in the 1300 version of the Abarth Simca GT in Spring ’63; the same configuration was evident in the Fiat Abarth 1000 Bialbero GT released in September ’63.  As usual, there is some confusion as to these dates, the factory for instance citing January ’65 as the point at which the 1300 became available as a longnose.  With a higher engine output of 209 bhp and concerns about the durability of the gearboxes ongoing, the opportunity was taken to specify a Tipo 132-A, 5 speed transmission for the GT 2000 longnose.  This version was back to a kerb weight of 675 Kg and claimed top speed of 161 mph.

‘Longnose.’ (0117) A well-known Abarth Simca 2000 GT owned by Les Burd.  Courtesy Mike Gulett 

The car below, #0125, was built from one of a batch of bodyshells which were in ’66 still on the premises at Corso Marche after production of the 1300/2000 GTs had ceased two years previously.  It is included here to illustrate the form of the 2000 GT ‘longnose’ body.  Otherwise, it is not typical, however, in so much as it was equipped with a Simca 1204 cc engine, as featured in the Bertone-styled Simca 1200S coupe.  Further details about these bodies and their utilisation are provided in the concluding paragraph of this article.

‘Longnose.’ (#0125) Just a larger single, central intake at the front, but engine bay intakes retained.  Courtesy Bonhams

A second longnose appeared in January ’65.  This was tweaked in minor degrees to enhance reliability and better accommodate the Tipo 132 six speed gearbox – featuring a reversion to the 202 bhp specification Tipo 236-S/A engine. 

As mentioned above, the relationship with Beccaris for the Simca floor-based GTs was short-lived.  The Carrozzeria was well respected for its proven capability to provide bodies in aluminium to a consistent dimensional quality standard.  But it is probable that disputes arose with Carlo Abarth over production aspects such as delivery scheduling, as he was soon prospecting for an alternative bodyshell supplier.  Perhaps he first became aware of Sibona & Basano as a newly formed Turin company in ’62 when Pietro Sibona joined forces with the Basano brothers, Emilio and Elio.  It quickly established itself as an innovative enterprise, keen to exploit new technologies.  As such, it sought to rapidly build its experience of working with the ‘plastic’ materials then becoming seen as an alternative to the sheet metal traditionally utilised in car body construction. This focus enabled the company to be of interest to the automotive trade and consumer publications and resulting coverage of its activities apparently resulted in a higher profile/reputation than might otherwise have been the case.  Carlo Abarth for one considered Sibona & Basano’s focus aligned with his own objective of creating cars with exceptional power to weight ratios.

 

Technically and aesthetically, the Sibona & Basano collaboration was successful.  However, there must be doubt about how well the Carrozzeria had been able to negotiate a sound financial relationship with the forceful and commercially astute Carlo Abarth, by then well into his second decade as the proprietor of a vehicle manufacturing business.  It may be inferred that this was a distinctly asymmetric relationship whereby Sibona & Basano enjoyed a substantial volume of purchase orders from Corso Marche, but with a very limited margin for the generation of profit.  The gaining of new, additional, trade clients swiftly became a matter of urgency.  Once found, it would also be vital that any new contracts be inherently more profitable than that governing the arrangement with Abarth.  That Sibona & Basano’s quest for new business was not something for which it had a high level of experience and expertise is evidenced by the range of projects/proposals addressed.

One of the companies that Sibona & Basano found itself working for was Studebaker, the innovative American manufacturer which managed for some time to be competitive with the mighty Big Three of Detroit.  Legendary designer, Brooks Stevens, as well as consulting on industrial design across many business sectors, became involved with efforts to revitalise and ‘save’ the Studebaker company.  In seeking to achieve this with a product-led strategy, Stevens came across Sibona & Basano and his account of his visit to the business illustrates the commercial naivety of the Carrozzeria: “Fortunately, I discovered the small body shop in Turin called Sibona-Basano. I went in and there was laundry on the line and chickens running around.  I got the two little guys out and filled them with Camparis.  We got (from) them good prices - $ 16,500 per car - an incredibly low price.  Even better, the finished vehicles were worthy of a Pininfarina." 

A project in collaboration with Ghia and Virgil Exner fizzled out before becoming financially beneficial for Sibona & Basano – perhaps ‘bad luck,’ as the design involved was deemed to be somewhat bizarre in its press reportage.  Subsequently, the possibility of a production run for Lamborghini arose, but Sibona & Basano found itself outflanked/outbid for this by the vastly more experienced carrozzeria, Touring.  There should too have been potential with a beach car, ‘The Decathlon,’ for Fiat, based on the 500, but this was another that attracted criticism for being ‘odd.’  Another 500-based project was a city car named Tsé-Tsé, but Fiat’s management could not be convinced to push it forward for production. 

Sibona & Basano’s tendency to become involved with projects which lacked commercial focus and were liable to drift was again seen when there was renewed contact with Virgil Exner.  This time, a nostalgia-based concept was proposed – an open sports car echoing a design that had stalled in its original creation, some forty years previously.  The vehicle, titled Mercer Cobra, looked good on paper, but once ‘in the metal,’ could only have a ‘show car’ existence where it usually drew complimentary comments but failed to attract any orders for a functioning model.  In another ‘success’ within the halls of a motor show, Sibona & Basano enjoyed some good press for the Autonova MPV when it was presented in conjunction with NSU in ’65 in Frankfurt, but full development was ruled out when the Neckarsulm-based manufacturer reviewed its strategic position and decided that it should put all its focus on the nascent RO80.

Further hope that new business would enable Sibona & Basano to prosper was not rewarded.  A Bizzarrini proposal for a new Spyder model to be bodied by Sibona & Basano failed to get past the planning stage and it became common within the industry for Sibona & Basano to be thought of as a jinxed business.  It was not surprising therefore that Pietro Sibona decided to exit the business in ’66.  As of ’67, Sibona & Basano was no longer trading.  Considering the situation at the beginning of the decade, when Sibona & Basano was involved with the GT models which did so much to establish Abarth’s reputation as the maker of attractive, innovative sports cars, it was both an unexpected and sad end.

Much more inspiring was the record of results achieved by Abarth 2000 GTs in competition.  Following up on the many victories scored by the 1300 model, the 2.0 litre chalked up its first significant victory at Aspern, Austria in April ’64.  At its wheel, Eberhard Mahle’s works car saw off Ernesto Prinoth’s Ferrari 250 GTO for the outright race win.  A good race for Abarth, with Hans Herrmann taking a 2000 Sport to third.  Both Mahle and Herrmann proved that a Scorpion-badged car could get the better of higher capacity/longer developed competition.

Eberhard Mahle, Aspern April ’64  Courtesy Rajdy i Wyścigi

Just one week later, Abarth Simca 2000s were first and second at a GT2.5 race at Imola, Franco Patria being the winner.  Patria enjoyed a successful summer in the car with DARM GT wins at Mainz and at Wunsdorf, further victories at the Coupes du Salon and the Coupes de Paris Salon, a second placing in the Coppa Citta di Enna and another second placing at the major hillclimb meeting at Schauinsland.  But, as the season turned to autumn, Patria’s good fortune deserted him – he was killed in an accident, (in which he was not at fault), at the 1000 Kms of Paris, at Montlhéry, on October 11^th. 

In that first full year on track for the Abarth Simca 2000 GT, Herrmann also took a victory – at the Coppa Citta di Enna – while Kurt Ahrens Jr. was also a winner, in the Pries von Tirol at Innsbruck.  Behind closed doors at Corso Marche however, Carlo Abarth had lost interest.  He was especially unimpressed with the Simca transmissions, which, despite modifications/the addition of ratios, proved to be prone to failures, often, it was believed, because of inadequate heat treatment of the gears themselves.  But, in any event, the original co-operation agreement with Simca – by then in effect with Chrysler, new owner of the brand - came to an end as ’64 concluded.  At that point, production of both the 1300 and 2000 Abarth Simca GTs ceased.

 

’65, nevertheless, saw plenty of Abarth Simca 2000 GT front running.  Jochen Rindt made it victory for the model for the second year running at Aspern.  Bob Burnard, who – along with Bobby Buchanan-Michaelson - had been a pioneer with the car in England in ’64, won at Goodwood in May.  He followed up with further wins at Snetterton in July and Brands Hatch in September. As in ’64, the model could be highly competitive on the major European hillclimbs, Herbert Demetz winning at Bolzano-Mendola, for instance.  Another ’64 Abarth Simca 2000 GT win repeated in ’65 was Frank Ruata’s at the Coupes du Salon.

After the 2000 GT’s racing competitiveness had lapsed, the model became the subject of an unexpected ‘rebirth,’ orchestrated by the West London Abarth specialist garage, Radbourne Racing.  The business, (alongside an associated Weber carburettor distribution firm), was founded in October ’65 by brothers John and Geoff Anstead together with Lincoln Small.  Initially servicing/repairing and providing parts for Abarths being run in and around London, Radbourne was soon assembling cars for local supply in the UK with agreement from Corso Marche.  Small became the partner usually making the trips to Turin necessary for facilitation of the business.  In his account , Abarth, Radbourne Racing and Me, published in 2025 by Whitefox Publishing Ltd, (ISBN 978-1-916797-04-8), Small outlines this episode of serendipity: 

On one of my regular visits to Abarth’s factory in late 1966 I was looking around the yard with Lorenzo Avidano when I spotted some forlorn-looking Abarth Simca 1300 and 2-litre bodyshells just sitting there in one of the warehouses.  There were thirty of them.  . . . judging by the look on Avidano’s face when I said, ‘I’d like to buy those bodyshells, please,’ he thought I was totally mad.  . . . I’m convinced he thought we’d go broke buying those bodyshells.  As it turned out we nearly did! 

They would become the Radbourne 1300, of course, which despite everything else of a much larger nature that we were involved in seems to be the thing that put us on the map in some ways.

The Radbourne Abarth 1300 was finally ready by the summer of 1968 . . . to avoid purchase tax I decided to sell (them) in component form.  . . . We priced them at £1,350, but it should be pointed out that we also just happened to offer a completion service and every customer went for that so no one actually built one from a kit. 

Unfortunately, interest was less than we expected . . . By the time we’d sold eight we were forced to pull the plug on the project due to pressure from the bank.  . . . We were left with twenty-one remaining ‘shells and we reluctantly decided to just get rid of them almost regardless of price. 

Production of the Abarth Simca GT models was a short-lived affair and in-house sentiment was marred by the fragility of the Simca-made/based transmissions.  However, the 1300 was very successful in winning the World Championship in ’63, ’64 and ’65 and the 2000 became a useful addition for running in the 2 litre class, though the rival Porsche and Alfa Romeo models were inherently more competitive, precluding an Abarth triumph in this class.  Away from race circuits, both models contributed well to Abarth’s status as a maker of good-looking, well performing GTs.  This, together with the rarity of extant examples, explains their still rising value – the Longnose, #0125 mentioned above, was sold by Bonhams at Goodwood in September ’24 for £117,500.

The One and Only - Part 3

Group 5 being virtually a silhouette formula with extensive modifications allowed, the cars were built by race car constructors, (and in any event, BMW itself had lost interest in sports car racing, its focus by then squarely on its F1 engine programme which would lead to the M12/13 turbocharged 4 cylinders used in Nelson Piquet’s Brabham to win the ’83 drivers world championship).  From the ’81 season, a number of Procars were taken over by teams for racing in such series as the DRM - Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft, forerunner of the DTM.  Such cars, remaining with atmospheric engines were seen in both Group 4 and Group 5 events, the following being examples:  #4301028 – an ex-Lauda Procar, prepared by Michael Cane Racing.  It was purchased by Steve O’Rourke and run by his team, EMKA Productions/Racing.  O’Rourke himself drove the car with various partners, including Derek Bell, David Hobbs, Chris Craft and Eddie Jordan.  Two class wins were recorded in ’81 and the car ran at Le Mans in both ’81 and ’82, though failed to finish both years.  #4301269 – a car looked after by DM Engineering was entered by BMW/BMW U.S. for races in the summer of ’81 at Watkins Glen and Mosport, driven by Hobbs/Surer and Hobbs/Stuck respectively, but was a non-finisher on both occasions.

More radical cars with twin turbocharged engines were anticipated to run in Group 5, (Special Production Cars), a category replaced by Group C for the ’83 season. It has been reported that three Group 5 cars were built by March, two by Sauber and one by both Martini Racing and Schnitzer. Best documented are the Saubers. The first of these, usually entered by Sauber itself, and, sometimes, BMW Italia, was mainly campaigned in the DRM, not with much success in ’81, with five DNFs. In the hands of Walter Nussbaumer it did however finish 3rd at Hockenheim. ’82 was a little better – Enzo Calderari took it to victory at a race in Dijon, and, partnered by Kelleners and Umberto Grano, it managed 3rd overall and first in class at the Nurburgring 1,000 km WEC event. The following year, Calderari and Marco Vanoli were victorious at the Hockenheim 3 Hours. The car subsequently competed in Scandinavia, in ’86-’88, mainly driven by Jürg Bächi, recording several podium place finishes.

The second Sauber M1 – distinctive with the iconic BASF livery -  got off to a very good start, winning the ’81 WEC Round 7 at the Nurburgring (1,000 km), driven by Stuck and Piquet.  This was a significant result against strong Group 5 opponent Lancia Montecarlos and Porsche 935s.  In this race, incidentally, there was also a Group 4 M1 GT class win for Kurt König and Peter Oberndorfer.  Next up was Le Mans, but this was not a success.  Both this, (driven by Stuck, Jarier and Henzler), and the sister, (driven by Surer, Quester and Deacon), Sauber M1 mentioned above, failed to finish.  The former was out after only 57 laps with accident damage, while the sister suffered a terminal engine failure at 207 laps.  This second Sauber M1 gave Christian Danner a podium finish in the DRM at Zolder, but was destroyed by an accident at the Kyalami 9 Hours in November ’81.

Group 5 M1 Sauber #2, Le Mans, ‘81

The March involvement was quite convoluted.  Its beginnings predated the launch of the Procar series and were based on the principle that March would do all the work on the chassis creation whilst BMW focused only on the further development of the M88 engine with forced induction.  At the time, March was leaning on a man in his mid-twenties, John Gentry.  The marque’s confidence in someone with limited previous experience was evidenced by his being entrusted to design a race-purpose, aluminium M1 monocoque chassis.  Aluminium also figured extensively, along with composites, in the M1-similar body’s construction.  Initially the car, designated Mk.1, was fitted with a normally aspirated version of the M88, good for around 475 bhp.  The car was running early in ’79, but could not be readied for any existing racing class use prior to homologation of the M1 for Group 4.  However, a second chassis with normally aspirated M88 engine was entered for the Le Mans 24 Hours run on 10/11^th ’79.  Crewed by Guy Edwards, Ian Grob and Quester, it ran in class S2, but failed to qualify for the race.   Late in the year another car was built for Jim Busby, an American with a good deal of driving experience in Porsche 911/934/935 cars run by Brumos and who had plans to enter it in IMSA GTX classification events in ’80.  The car was designated #03 and first appeared at the Daytona 24 Hours, February ’80.  Busby is said to have had the engine replaced with a Chevrolet unit.  That Spring, he entered it also for races at Sebring, Road Atlanta and Riverside, but only finished at Road Atlanta, so his enthusiasm was extinguished and the car passed to Bob Gregg while Busby reverted to a Porsche 935.  Gregg also contested three GTP races, in summer ’82, but, was rewarded with three DNFs.  In February ’83 he tried his luck at the Miami G.P. but could finish no higher than 25^th.  A further car was built to replace #001 which was written off in a ’80 crash.  The details and various versions of these March M1s were not well documented at the time and I have not been able to verify, for instance, that Busby’s car did compete with a Chevrolet engine.

Second March M1, Le Mans, ‘79

The Martini M1 bore chassis number 4301059.  It competed in ’81 at Mugello, entered by BMW Italia/ORECA, at Monza (1,000 km) (ORECA), Le Mans (BMW Italia) and Kyalami (BMW Italia).  Success was limited, though Teo Fabi and Quester finished 4^th at the Monza 1,000 km.  The car was a TOTAL entry for Le Mans the following season, finishing 18^th.

Group 5 Martini M1, Monza, ‘81

The Team Schnitzer car was entered for most of the DRM events of the ’81 season, with Hans Stuck at the wheel.  There were wins at the Norisring and Salzburg, a 2^nd at Hockenheim and a couple of 3^rd places.  Stuck’s position in the end of season table was 8^th.

Group 5 Schnitzer M1, Hans Stuck, DRM

Almost half a century after the M1’s heyday, one man remains hyperactive in ensuring that the model does not exist today only in museum exhibit/garage queen form.  He is Fritz Wagner, based at Kolbermoor, south east of Munich, on the way to Salzberg.  He first became acquainted with the M1 when working at Project Four on the preparation of the Procars for the ’79 season.  Subsequently he moved to the Manfred Cassani team where he helped prepare and run the Procars driven by Hans Stuck in ’79 and in ‘80 by Manfred Winkelhock and Christian Danner.  Then, and in all the years since, Fritz has made it his main mission in life to locate, buy and store complete M1 cars and the full range of parts needed for their repair and upkeep.  In an interview by Johan Dillen for Classic Motorsports, Wagner explained:  ““I was the only one to show any interest in the old parts.”  I’d haggle with Ron Dennis over a gearbox.  I’d give mechanics some drinking money in exchange for parts.  It was no free ride, but really, they all charged just a fraction of what these parts cost – and I was the only one willing to give any money for them.  In Munich, the Motorsport guys would throw it all away.  Again, I was the only one who would come to retrieve these parts before they were destroyed.  I would just leave them here on the floor at my home.  At the time, I had no clear idea what to do with all this, but I knew it would come in handy one day.”  How right Fritz was.  In the last few years M1/Procar reunion events have become a very popular strand in the classic car/historic motorsport scene.  One especially notable example was held in ’19 at the Norisring, with several of the 14 cars visiting being run at speed on the track.  For this to be possible, there is much reliance on Fritz and his knowledge, expertise and stock of parts.  So there is a happy confluence involving a truly iconic car of the late 20^th Century and the ultimate supportive enthusiast, still so single mindedly focused well into the 21^st!

Surviving examples of both the road-going M1 and Procar models are regularly offered for resale.  The asking/estimated/realised average price of an M1 in recent years has been £435,000, while £890,000 is the average for Procars.  Seen below are examples of M1s recently marketed:

 

#4301006  As might be inferred from the chassis number, this is an early production M1.  In describing the car, vendors, Gallery Aaldering, stated: ‘It is the third M1 ever built and, according to factory records, the first street-legal version used by BMW for training sessions and promotional events before being sold to its first private owner.  Originally delivered from the factory in striking Inka Orange, it was initially used by BMW as a service training car.  Later sold to Alf Gebhardt, a former BMW works driver and Procar participant.’  The asking price was €599.500.

#4301097  Bonham’s auction lot description included: ‘At the time of cataloguing, the odometer reading was 141,000 kilometres, a testament to BMW reliability and the fact that the M1 has always been, and still is, a very useable supercar.’‘  The sale estimate was given as €390,000 - €440,000.

#4301160  This car is at the other end of the usage spectrum – Munich Legends’s advertisement for it indicating that it had covered just 5,000 km from new.

#4301170  Vendor, Broad Arrow, said that this was one of 71 M1s finished in red.  Its first owner, a figure in the German music industry, commissioned modifications to give the car the appearance of a Procar, as can be seen in the photographs below.  Broad Arrow’s auction lot value estimate was €450-€550,000.

#4301180  Sotheby’s sold this M1 in 2025 for £398,750.  The auction house noted: ‘Marked as complete by Baur in February 1980, its original colourway was Toprot over a Schwarz part-leather interior.‘

#4301226  Another sale handled by Sotheby’s.  This ’80-built example was finished in blue, ex-factory.  It was restored in recent times by Bruce Canepa’s highly respected Scott’s Valley, CA-located business.  The price tag on this one was $580,000.

#4301292  Is an example of the relatively rare commodity – an M1 listed on Bring a Trailer.  Not that the platform is an inappropriate place from which to offer such a car, as evidenced by the winning bid value of $580,000 (2024).  Thinking again of rarity, the car’s colour certainly qualifies – as the BaT description explains: ‘. . .one of three cars delivered from the factory in black, it was built on July 15, 1980, and was delivered new in England.’  It is another which has benefitted from attention at the Canepa workshop.  A low mileage – just 30,000 – car which looks both sleek and sinister!

#4301332  A late’80-built car. Reseller, Hero Motor Company, looked for £495,000, listing particular plus points of upgraded seat trimming (half leather), the Nachtblau finish, shared by only 58 other road-going M1s and only 39,500 km recorded.

#4301364  Is another M1 painted blue when manufactured in October ’80 – it has subsequently been repainted in a metallic red.  Over the years it has been in use in France, the U.S. and Singapore, but was in Monaco in 2024 when it was sold by RM Sotheby’s for €342,500.

#4301378  Gooding Christie’s sold this November ’80 manufactured M1 in January ’26, realising a price of €522,500.  Said to be the 308^th  example built and with just 53,000 km on the clock.  Its VIN plate is shown below, right.  Note that the standard, highly distinctive Campagnolo wheels have been replaced with BBS rims.  A set of the Campagnolos was recently offered on eBay for $40,000 – see below, centre.

#4301413  Originally Inka, this is a ’81-made M1.  It failed to sell at Broad Arrow’s ‘25 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este Auction, at which the estimate was €475-575,000.

Three example Procars are seen below.

#4301057  Built in May ’79, this car was race prepared by Osella.  Subsequently, it went to Vasek Polak’s Dealership at Manhattan Beach, California, remaining long term in Polak’s well-known collection.  It changed ownership in ’25 for  $1,600,000.

#4301195  First owner was Joe Crevier who started racing in partnership with Al Unser Jnr.  He used this Procar to contest the ’81 IMSA GTO Championship, finishing 3^rd in class.  He ran in this again the following season, taking in both the Daytona 24 Hours and the 12 Hours of Sebring.  However, in May ’82, he abruptly stopped competing and sold the car to Don Walker of Dallas Motorsport.  The car left the U.S. in the late Eighties when purchased by a collector located in Switzerland.  In 2020 it changed hands for $913,000.

#4301302  An ’80-manufactured M1, this car was modified up to Procar specification in ’82 by Walker Brown Racing for participation in the IMSA GTO series. It is another car which went to Switzerland in the Eighties after it was retired from full time competition use.  Originally finished in white, in recent times it has been repainted red.  In ’15 it raced in the Grand Prix de l'Age d'Or at the Circuit Dijon-Prenois, as seen, right, below.  Its last resale was in ’24, when it made $1,097,513.

As the half century anniversary of the M1/Procar launch approaches, the E26 BMW remains a highly respected car with strong resale values and appreciation for its aesthetic and dynamic characteristics.  Giugiaro’s styling job has been accorded even further favourable recognition with the passing years.  In April ’08 the M1 Hommage designed by Benoit Jacob was unveiled at Villa d’Este, and in its Liquid Orange paint it certainly drew attention.  But however striking this finish appeared, it was not enough to compensate for an overall ‘look’ which was not as successful as that created by Giugiaro.  In particular, Jacob’s interpretation of the traditional kidney grilles element, being decidedly oversized, conferred a clumsy character on the car’s front end.  This was just one aspect which robbed the Hommage of the original M1’s elegance.  But also missing was the portrayal of a machine ready to race – the E26 was both sleek and purposeful, able to be both a ‘looker’ and a racer, perfectly suited to the circuit at Monaco, whereas the Hommage would seem more at home being valet parked at Monte Carlo’s renowned Hotel de Paris.  As to the engine, the ’08 project had at one time included the incorporation of a V10.  This was revised, recalling the situation in the Seventies when the M1 lost its V8 on the drawing board.  But the substitution of a straight six then has not adversely affected the car today – this configuration helps make the M1 a relatively practical ‘supercar’ in ownership/cost terms.  And, as a significant benefit to the marque, the M88 became a very highly rated engine and a key feature of the hugely successful E28 M5 model.  So, the M1 can be appreciated as BMW’s most convincing multi-purpose product: elegant junior supercar/effective racer/halo model/legacy provider/brand icon.

BMW M1 Hommage  ©Motorsport Network