The BMW M1 was a super sports car by BMW, which was built between autumn of 1978 and end of 1981. The body of the BMW M1 is built up on a grill tube frame. Many parts of the BMW street cars were taken over and implanted in the M1. One noticeable element is the tail lights, which were taken over from the BMW 6 series. Unusual for BMW at the time were the folding headlights, which were necessary because of American regulations and an aerodynamically flat front. In 1979 and 1980 BMW M1 Procars participated in the general program of the European Formula 1 activities. The first race took place on May 12th 1979 on the Dutch circuit of Zolder. Originally the BMW M1 was designed to participate in racing. Its success in racing was mediocre and as a result the majority of the production runs were sold as street versions to private customers.