Broken Dreams: BMW Nazca M12. Challenge to grow

To beat the competition, the designers and technicians of large manufacturers must be kept on their toes and at peak performance. Especially with prestigious brands, such as BMW, who create a sort of virtual gym where prototypes and concepts are developed that on rare occasions actually make it to the market but nevertheless serve as a unique way to look towards the future. A great example of this methodology can be seen in the three versions of the BMW Nazca that saw the light of day between 1991 and 1993.

In this case, the challenge was taken on by an external designer, Italdesign, in the years when control of the company had passed from the founder Giorgetto Giugiaro to his son Fabrizio. Faced with the theme of designing a super sports car powered by a 12-cylinder engine, it would have been difficult to forget the charm of the M1 from the 80s, created to compete in the Pro Car Championships and driven by F1 drivers during the Grand Prix races. Giugiaro had already developed similar models using Oldsmobile and Bugatti mechanics, something that proved very useful in the conception of the first Nazca, the M12, which was presented in Geneva in 1991. Its engine was the same one used in the 750i and 850i at the time, a 5-litre V12 producing 300hp.