BMW 1 Series M Coupé: Late Start Against Audi RS3 And Co

2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 09:36

BMW rounds the M family down very late. The 1 Series M Coupé is coming next year, even if the normal 1 Series is getting its slim facelift.

By Stefan Grundhoff

If you don't have any real opponents, you can stand in your own way. BMW, cross-class epitome for sporty vehicles with volume ambitions, has put its M versions in the limelight for decades. The dynamic Kraftmeier duo of M3 and M5 in particular terrified the global competition while customers were jubilant.

Double game in the entry-level class

But currently the M family is a bit paralyzed. The new M5 will not celebrate its premiere until autumn 2011 at the IAA. The new 3-generation sword of Damocles, which will also celebrate its premiere at the end of next year, is already floating above the current BMW M3. So that the M-disciples don't migrate in droves to Audi, Mercedes and Porsche, the 1 Series now has a late chance as M - maybe too late? Because BMW is playing a double game in the entry-level class in the coming year, which should cause many heads to shake.

The 1 Series BMW has a successor that will be presented in the spring. Drawn fresher, more powerful and more filigree, it should make you want to enjoy the new entry-level class of Bavaria in the design language of 7 and 5 series. But BMW will only replace its 1 Series as a five-door in the coming year. Coupé and Cabriolet, on the other hand, only get a barely visible model upgrade with retouching of the rear lights and the interior.

Name M1 remains blocked

With this slightly streamlined outfit, the small M comes onto the market, which was not allowed to carry the image-rich name M1. Here BMW wants to keep the option for a new super sports car open. So the entry-level model in the M world now bears the somewhat watered-down name "1er M Coupé". Correctly, however, the 4.38-meter-long car should be called "BMW 135i M", because that is exactly what it is.

If many other M models can draw on unlimited resources, only the small cutlery was available for the M model based on it. Compared to the regular, already magnificently motorized 135i, which normally develops 225 kW / 306 PS and with the sports package 240 kW / 326 PS, the 1 Series M Coupé can breathe a little deeper and has to be content with a comparatively unhappy 250 kW / 340 PS. Anything but imposing for a real M model, but just coincidentally exactly the performance that Audi delivers to its charged RS 3 Sportback.

In 4.9 seconds to 100 km / h

So that the entire M package does not appear so thin, the "wannabe M1" has been given a class chassis, sports gearshift and precise steering. However, it is not understandable why BMW brakes the most powerful 1 Series of all time just like the regular 135i at 250 km / h. But 450 Nm maximum torque at 1500 tours and an overboost function up to 500 Nm are of course also such an announcement.

The rear-wheel drive car manages the sprint from 0 to 100 km / h in 4.9 seconds. The standard consumption of 9.6 liters of super is within tolerable limits. The engine was brought over directly from the Z4 35 si, which is easy to notice. As a result, the recreational athlete was denied the M logo because the sports car genes were too thin. Not that the almost 1.5-ton 1 Series M Coupé with its thick cheeks, four tailpipes and mighty radiator openings lacked performance and appearance. But it remains a secret of the product strategists, which is why the difference in performance between the pseudo-M1 and the 135i that has been refined with a performance package is so small.

Starts at 50,500 euros

"The M models have long been characterized not only by the engine power, but especially by the driving behavior and the overall sporty set-up", Kay Segler, head of M-GmbH, tries to explain. "The body of the M model has been widened by 80 millimeters for this."

Segler has put a lot of pressure on since taking office and first brought the M3 GTS and now the 1 Series M Coupé onto the road. But actually everyone is waiting for the real M1 anyway. In any case, the price for the hottest 1-series BMW of all time is 50,500 euros. The target date for the market launch is May 2011. (mid)