The BMW 1-Series began its life back in 2004 when the 3-Series was moving up in the world and BMW needed another small family car to serve as an entry model. It started off as a 5-door hatchback, but was introduced as a 2-door coupe, a 3-door hatchback, and a convertible in 2007.
The current engine selection consists of a 3.0L I-6 producing 230hp and 200 lb-ft of torque, and a 3.0L twin turbo I-6 producing 300hp and 300 lb-ft of torque. Both engines are mated to either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission.
When BMW launched their 1 Series M coupe, everyone wondered how the car would fare against the larger and heavier, but more powerful, M3. In testing, a German car magazine ran the Nürburgring Nordschleife from bridge to gantry in 8:15, while the record for a ‘Ring lap in an M3 CSL stands at 7:50. Even the plain E92 BMW M3 lapped the ‘Ring in 8:05, so it seemed clear that all M3 variants were quicker than the 1 Series M cars.
The video above may prove otherwise. The driver of the 1 Series M, with the in-car camera, is Andre de Vries. He’s chasing a BMW M3 CSL, set up as a Nürburgring track day car and fitted with a roll cage, big brakes, lightweight exhaust, racing seats and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires. The 1 Series M, on the other hand, is bone stock, which makes the performance of the car that much more remarkable.
It’s amazing to see how closely matched the two cars are, and de Vries managed to clock the exact same 8:15 time recorded by Sportauto tester, Horst von Saurma. Given a cleaner run around the ‘Ring, with less traffic and no accident to necessitate lifting off the throttle, deVries is confident that he can lap from bridge to gantry in under 8 minutes, which puts the 1 Series M in the same league as a 2005 Dodge Viper SRT-10, a 1996 Nissan Skyline GT-R R33 V-Spec, and the 2004 Porsche 911 Carrera S. That’s some impressive company to keep.
In order to celebrate BMW’s sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Game, the company has unveiled the London Performance special editions based on the 3-Series and 1-Series models. The Performance Edition models will add £1,500 ($2,400 at the current exchange rates) for the 1-Series model and £500 ($800 at the current exchange rates) for the 3-Series version.
The 1 Series Performance Edition will add M aerodynamic body styling, dark chrome 18" M light alloy wheels, High-gloss Shadowline exterior trim, a dark chrome exhaust tailpipe, and dark line rear lights. The interior will get sport seats with Royal Blue stitching, an M Sport multi-function leather steering wheel and gearshift leaver, floor mats with Royal Blue piping, and London 2012 exterior badges. The car’s sporty look is further enhanced by an M Sport Suspension.
The 3-Series Performance Edition will receive an M aerodynamic body kit, an M sport multi-function leather steering wheel, sport seats, floor mats with blue piping, 18" light alloy wheels, a chrome exhaust finisher, and London 2012 exterior badges.
Both Performance Edition models will be offered in four colors: Alpine White, Titanium Silver, Bluewater, and Black Sapphire.
The BMW 1-Series M Coupe is one of our early favorites for car of the year and apparently, the love for this car extends far beyond our pages. A number of tuning companies are already lining up to get their hands on the 1M Coupe and short of saying, a tuning race of sorts has began to release the best possible aftermarket program for the baby M.
Kelleners Sport is one of the first to roll out their version of a modded 1M Coupe. Their package includes aerodynamic and performance upgrades that leave plenty of discussion on both sides of the fence. For starters, the car’s external profile has been added with various items, including a new front lip, stripes on the car’s hood, roof, and side sills, a new stainless steel grill, and a set of either 20" ’Berlin’ or ’Hamburg’ alloy wheels.
Hit the jump for full details on the BMW 1-Series M Coupe by Kelleners Sport.
The 2012 BMW 1M Coupe really is on top of the world these days, isn’t it?
Days after the car was featured on the pilot episode of the new season of Top Gear, BMW’s high-powered 1M found itself on top of one of the tallest buildings in America: the U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles. More important than that, the U.S. Bank Tower stands 1,018 feet tall and is considered as the tallest building in the world with a helipad on it.
So what exactly is the 1M Coupe doing on the helipad of this skyscraper?
Well, there’s awesome and then there’s awesome. This video of the 1M Coupe performing an arc drift on top of the world’s tallest helipad certainly qualifies for the latter. Kind of makes that previous video of the sports car drifting through walls look like child’s play, doesn’t it? Either way, the whole video certainly speaks for itself.
Reminder: The BMW 1M Coupe is powered by a new twin-turbocharged, all-aluminum, 3.0-liter inline-6 engine that delivers an impressive 335 HP at 5,900 rpm and 332 lb-ft of torque from 1,500 rpm to 4,500 rpm. It has a sprint time from 0 to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds and a electronically limited top speed of 155 mph. The standing quarter-mile mark comes up in 13.2 seconds.
Season 17 of Top Gear has finally arrived and as expected, there’s been a lot of buzz as to what the troika of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May have in store for us. Now we’ve already seen the previews of Season 17, but now that the first episode has finally aired, we can take a look back at what transpired in those 60 minutes.
Certainly, there were plenty of things talked about on the first episode, not the least of which include a hulking piece of four-wheeled monstrosity from South Africa, a review of BMW’s latest pride and joy, a race between a new rally car and a smoking hot Olympic gold medalist, and a certain American rock legend trading in his shock-rock world for the driver seat of a Kia Cee’d hatchback.
Highly entertaining as always, the 17th season of Top Gear is now here.
Check out a review of the first episode after the jump.
