Remember the BMW M1 and the fact that Munich's first mid-engined supercar was raced in its own one-make series? OK, lots of those cars, in another grand BMW tradition, got hand-painted 'art' liveries and a classic was the blue-and-white "Münchner Wirte" paint job done on an M1 that raced at Le Mans.
That was the work of designer Walter Maurer and he's been asked by BMW to recreate his classic design on a new M3 saloon.
"Although the two cars are very different, it was surprisingly straightforward to carry over the design from the two-door BMW M1 racer to the four-door BMW M3 Sedan," reports Maurer. "I hatched the plan to turn this very special artwork into reality in 1981, together with my good friends and long-established Munich restaurateurs Putzi Holenia and Karl Heckl, and the then head of the BMW press department, Dirk Henning Strassl."
Separated by 34 years (and about 39hp - the M1 ProCars had 470hp) the M3 has been painted up as part of the Oktoberfest celebrations taking place all across Munich, and it will be on display at BMW's BMW Welt - the company's exhibition space and museum at its Munich factory. The livery has Bavarian-style façade painting and blue and white twisted cords, along with depictions of Munich landmarks (such as the Olympic Stadium, Siegestor, Frauenkirche church and BMW's headquarters - the "four-cylinder" building), a roast chestnut seller and the Wiesn-Schänke beer tent at the Oktoberfest.
Just remember to drink responsibly, OK everyone?