The joy of carspotting — whether it’s in New York or Hong Kong or the rural Deep South — is stumbling onto something that seemingly has no place among the automotive masses, the endless sea of Nissan Rogues and Chevrolet Suburbans. It is a universal delight for car enthusiasts. So what’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever seen in the wild?
Photo credit Patrick George/Jalopnik
I’m not sure I’d call this the “wild,” and given its current state I’m using the term “car” rather loosely, but Terry Sayther Automotive — the nice folks from whom I buy BMW parts sometimes — have the shell of a BMW M1 on their premises. Or at least they have lately.
The M1, if you don’t know, was a limited run mid-engined supercar from the late 1970s and early 1980s. BMW only ever made about 450 of them. I’ve seen a handful myself, but almost exclusively at things like the Monterey Classics Reunion — the kind of place where you’d expect to see such a car, and in racing form as well.
I was not expecting to see the shell of one at a shop in South Austin, even if Terry Sayther is an extremely well-regarded BMW shop. A 2002, an E9, even an E28 M5? All are to be expected there, within reason; but the carcass of an M1 seemed unspeakably rare. It may be someone’s project. I’m not sure. I don’t know what this M1’s story is or why it’s there, but when I get a little more free time one of these days I want to figure it out.
Tell us about the weirdest thing you’ve encountered.