Speaking of the BMW 1M Coupe....

[Veritable]

A buddy of mine in the car club JUST took delivery of one, and he brought it out to the 2011 German Car Fest (hosted by the local BMW, Porsche and Mercedes clubs).

Despite what Richard Hammond said in today's Top Gear episode about the car being too expensive, up here in Canada the price difference between it and a 135i Coupe is about $10k CDN. If you were to buy that 135i Coupe, put in all the M3 suspension bits, put in a mechanical LSD (Quaife or Wavetrac), put in bigger and wider wheels, and then change the software for more power... your bill would end up being about $10k, you'd have no more warranty, AND you still wouldn't have the wide fenders.

So, here's the pics of his car today. Equipment is the Canon 50D, Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L USM, B+W Circular Polarizer, shot in f/8 - f/10.

The owner (left) happily showing another club member the ins and outs of his car.

Feel free to check out the rest of the gallery, for LOTS more Porsches, LOTS LOTS more BMWs, and even a Mercedes 300SL Gullwing: http://picasaweb.google.com/TheStiggyOne/20110626GermanCarFest#

 

[McRae]

It looks quite ugly standing beside your elegant M3. But it still is a cool car.

 

[FDaihatsu]

^ +1. I would rather have it without the 'wide fenders' body kit thing.

 

[Redliner]

Apart from the M3, it?s my favorite in the current line-up.

 

[LeVeL]

oh my I just got a semi

 

[Lastsoul]

^ +1. I would rather have it without the 'wide fenders' body kit thing.

I kinda agree the fenders could be just a bit narrower, but the reason for wide fenders is not the looks, but to get the track wide for better handling.

 

[Cobol74]

I do not like Chrome effect rims - other that that an OK (not more than that) looking car and as we saw yesterday (at 40k GBP) good value, room for the small kids in the back, quick and it handles well. Oh, and it suits split twin exhaust pipes.

Plus BMW build!

 

[MP5A4]

wider everything still doesnt change the fact that the highlights and grill of the car looks horrible.
and the side of the car still looks like some 1000 pounds fat guy is sitting in it bending the whole car

But i do not doubt that its gonna be great to drive.

 

[speedmeist3r]

I for one like it. Not too big a fan of how large cars these days are getting.

Great shots, BTW! Anyone spot those vanity plates on the M3?

 

[idk]

Although I'm a car enthusiast I do not know in what position I'd have to be in to consider buying such a small car for that price. As my 3rd car maybe... But if I can afford a 3rd car for that money without a problem, why buy a 1 series?

Somewhere in me there is some reasonability that says, as a single or even 2nd car buy a 520d and put extras worth more than 14.000 Euros in it and its still cheaper than this awesome 1 series...

 

[Lastsoul]

You don't buy 1M Coupe because it's worth the money in practical terms. As all performance cars, you buy it because you want it (and you can afford it). It's no Skoda, it doesn't have to be reasonable.

 

[Aston Martin]

It needs to pictured next to an E30 M3, and I wish it was called the 1M not the 1-Series M Coupe.

 

[Strelok16]

I have to say I really like the 1 Coupe. Say what you want about the body kit and stuff on the M model, but I just can't not like something with such 2002/E30-ish proportions.

 

[bone]

i hate myself for liking the 1 series that much! and i love that color!

but...

those rear wheelarches are just silly, looks like bloody smart!

 

[biggie]

Do like it overall, but does still seem too expensive and not a huge fan of the look of the lower part of the front bumper.

 

[prizrak]

I don't like the front chin, too ricey looking.

 

[thevictor390]

I don't like the looks of the car. But I can't argue with the performance or form factor.

 

[MadCow809]

Those CSL styled rims are uber sexy!

 

[Veritable]

Those CSL styled rims are uber sexy!

Those are actually the same Style 359M wheels that you get from the current M3 Competition Package, made by BBS as a replacement for the CSL wheels.

^ +1. I would rather have it without the 'wide fenders' body kit thing.

I'll agree that the square proportion of the car make it look odd, but it's BECAUSE of that wide track and short length that the car handles so well, as Clarkson atested to. Without the flared wheel arches, there's no way that a regular 1-series Coupe can possibly fit the 9x19 10x19 M3 wheels properly.

For a small track like the Top Gear Test Track, the 1M Coupe with the same underpinning as the M3 (right down to the same Variable M DIfferential Lock), same wheels and tires, more torque down low, shorter and lighter, it's no surprise that it eeked out the current M3. It's only the super high speed tracks (I'm guessing 200km/h+) that the horsepower difference will come into play.

I wouldn't own one, I love my 4 doors way too much, but I wouldn't compete against one in auto-x or the local 1:10min / lap race track... BMW has a giant killer on its hands....

Here's some highlights from the best of the rest:

Here's an old Mercedes, not sure the year and model....

Here's another one, that needs NO introduction.

Mercedes SLs, about 20 years apart I think?

The "Shark," BMW E24 M6.

Matte White BMW E46 M3.

Porsche, Porsche and Porsche. LOVE that whale-tail!

 

[MrChips]

Boy do I love the 1M Coupe. I got to drive one on track a couple of weeks ago at a BMW event here in town. Compared to my 135i (that I sold a few weeks ago), it is night and day better in every aspect. The extra power was nice, but not all that noticeable over the standard 135...but the changes they made to the handling and ride were profound. The 135, in all honesty, wasn't all that great to drive; the ride was irritatingly choppy, and when pushed hard, the car understeered and rolled more than I would have liked - it didn't really drive like a BMW should. The 1M, on the other hand, fixes every one of these flaws. The ride is quite hard, but the choppiness was all but gone (or at least I didn't notice it anymore). Also, the LSD makes a huge difference getting the power down coming out of a corner - the 135 only simulated (quite poorly, in retrospect) an LSD with brake application.

For all that everyone (including BMW) goes on and on about how this is the spiritual successor to the E30 M3, I completely disagree. The 1M, in my opinion, is the very worthy successor to the old 2002 Turbo. I've only ever been a passenger in an '02 Turbo, but that car's character feels like a very close match for the 1M.