Canepa recently completed the restoration of the rarest Cinderella, a perfect ex-Procar 1979 BMW M1.

Number 31 among the 40 chassis produced between 1979-1980, this vehicle began its life as a spare in the BMW M1 Procar Championship, yet never saw action on a racetrack. At the end of the Procar program, it was re-assembled as a road car and sold to a dealer, then purchased by numerous parties (artists, collectors and other dealers) and attended many events as well as exhibitions in the 1990s.

Thereafter, it went into storage as a long term collectible car. Luckily, in October 2012, Canepa discovered the unrequited soul of a Procar still beating within the M1 and initiated its restoration. The exquisite road-legal M1 seen here is a testimony to Canepa’s edict to “complete its destiny from 37 years earlier” by returning the car to its original competition prowess with Procar hubs, suspension, control arms, tie rods and axles. Its rebuilt six-cylinder 414bhp engine still churns out 357 lb-ft thanks to VAC Motorsports. Finally, its Basalt Blau exterior colour was never offered to the market, making this finally-at-the-ball Cinderella as rare as a road-legal Procar can be.