The model code of the BMW M1 sports car is E26. The M1 was BMW’s first mass-produced mid-engine automobile and was developed in the late 1970s as a racing project aimed at challenging Porsche.
BMW originally partnered with Lamborghini, which was expected to help develop and build the car. Lamborghini’s financial problems disrupted the arrangement, so BMW resumed control of the project. The finished M1 used a tubular steel space frame, a fiberglass body and a 3.5-litre straight-six engine called the M88/1.
The car’s body styling came from Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign, while production involved several specialist firms and final assembly by Baur in Germany. BMW built the M1 as a homologation special for Group 4 competition, producing only 453 examples between 1978 and 1981. The E26 designation is easy to confuse with other BMW internal codes, such as E24 for the 6 Series and E30 for the second-generation 3 Series. The M1 later became the basis for the one-make Procar racing series.