| | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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. 2012 BMW London Performance Editions
 
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. 2012 BMW 1-Series M Coupe by Kelleners Sport
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. Full story Video: BMW 1M Coupe filmed drifting at the world’s tallest helipad
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. Top Gear Season 17: Episode 1
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. Full story 2012 BMW 1-Series M Coupe clocks the Nurburgring at 8:15
The BMW 1-Series M Coupe’s highly anticipated turn at the Nurburgring finally took place. SportAuto took the newest addition to BMW’s M family for the cursory timed lap around the world’s most famous race track. After their session around the Ring with the 1M Coupe, the results finally came in: eight minutes and 15 seconds. As far as we’re concerned, the figure is both impressive and disappointing. It’s impressive because it beat out the lap times of some of its notable competitors, particularly the 320-horsepower Porsche Cayman S, which clocked in two seconds slower than the 1M Coupe, as well as the two Audi sportsters, the TT RS, and the RS3 Sportback. On the flip side, SportAuto was the first to admit that the 1-Series M Coupe’s time could have been faster if not for the racing compound tires and the stiff suspension at which the 1-Series M Coupe was configured. While we certainly can’t blame SportAuto for the time they posted - 8:15 is impressive by most accounts - they did open the door for the BMW sports car to post an even faster time around the Nurburgring if it’s properly set-up. When that will be is still anyone’s guess, but the gauntlet has definitely been thrown down. 2012 BMW 1-Series M Coupe by TechTec
We’ve already seen a tuning package for the BMW 1-Series M Coupe, but whereas the "Clockwork Orange" was made exclusively for one client, this latest package from TechTec will be the first offered to the general public. BMW’s little sports car already comes with a new twin-turbocharged, all-aluminum, 3.0-liter inline-6 engine that delivers total of 335 HP, but German tuner, TechTec, has reworked that engine to come up with three different power stages. The first stage will bring the pony power up to 380 HP and the peak torque to 427 lb-ft, all for 1,000 euro (about $1,4000 at the current rates). Throw down another 1,500 euro (about $2,100 at the current rates) and that power increase will jump by 20 to 400 HP, but at this point, TechTec would also recommend that the buyer gets their upgraded air cooler for another 800 euro (about $1,120 at the current rates). The third and final stage for the BMW 1-Series M Coupe will boost power all the way up to 450 HP, allowing the BMW to sprint from 0-60 mph in an estimated 4.1 seconds. This is also accomplished due to the fact that the tuner removed the top speed limiter, bringing the top speed up to 186 mph. Additional throaty growls from the M Coupe can be attained with a new titanium exhaust system from Akrapovic and handling can also be improved with the club sport-suspension by KW, both offered by TechTec. For comparison’s sake, the BMW 1-Series M Coupe by TechTec lapped the Hockenheim circuit in 1:13:59, whereas the standard 1-Series M Coupe reportedly did it in 1:14.1 and the BMW M3 followed at 1:14.2. It’s not a tremendous difference, but if that slight lead will get the driver’s juices flowing then the top version of the TechTec package is the way to go. Video: BMW 1-Series M Coupe vs. Walls
We like a good commercial just as much as the next guy, but BMW’s latest commercial for the 1-Series M Coupe just about blew our collective minds. While other automakers are matching up their rides with their competitors, BMW has chosen to pit their coupe up against a long line of concrete walls. Don’t worry, the 1-Series M Coupe stays in one piece throughout the entire commercial, but the use of a professional driver and some mad drifting and driving skills, make this commercial a must see! It’s difficult to explain and we don’t want to ruin the experience by spoiling the plot, but we promise it will leave you breathless. However, before anyone even watches it, make sure you understand that this is a professional driver and under no circumstances should anyone try this at home. As a reminder, the 1-Series M Coupe is powered by a 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. 2012 BMW 1-Series M Coupe "Clockwork Orange"
BMW’s M-Series certainly needs no introduction as far as being one of the most popular performance divisions of any automotive brand in the world today. With a long list of high-powered Beamers under it’s belt, it’s no secret that the M-Series has becoming a tuning favorite, including their most recent member of the family, the 2012 1-Series M Coupe. This particular project, the first for a 1-Series M Coupe, was commissioned by a "Flex///M", a member of the 1addicts forum. As the name of the site suggests, these people are about as close to 1-Series aficionados as you can get and Flex///M’s project called "Clockwork Orange" is living proof of that. For this particular model, the modifications include a steady mix of aerodynamic and performance improvements, including plenty of carbon fiber used on both the exterior and interior of the car. There’s a Starck Performance carbon fiber ’1m Vision’ hood and a Starck Performance carbon fiber ’1m Vision’ trunk both in Valencia Orange, Icarbon matte kidney grilles, Icarbon carbon fiber seatbacks, a United BMW performance steering wheel, and a set of Morr Wheels Vs8.2 forged carbon wheels. As for the performance improvements, the 1-Series M Coupe still retains its 3.0-liter twin-turbo straight-six engine with 335 horsepower at 5,900 rpm and 369 lb/ft of torque with overboost. Despite that, there are still plenty of upgrades to go around, including a new KW suspension, Starck Performance 1M downpipes, a Starck Performance 1M intercooler, a new Afe cold air intake, and a 1M-specific ESS tuning. All told, this project is a one-off exclusively made for Flex///M. Kind of wish there’s more of this to go around because you can’t have enough tuned-up 2012 BMW 1-Series M Coupes running around our streets. 2012 BMW 1-Series with M-Sport Package
Now that BMW released the official details for the new generation 1-Series, it was only a matter of time before news of additional perks and packages were released as well. BMW.de was at the forefront of this information with news of the M-Sport package. According to the Germans, the M-Sport package will be available starting March 2012 and will add extra sporting equipment. The most intriguing feature of the new M Sport package is the addition of Estoril Blue Metallic to the list of color options (five total). This new color will join the ranks of an Individual High-gloss Shadow Line which replaces the chrome trim and a Dark Shadow Metallic rear diffuser. New components include a separate bumper and skirts for a more dynamic look, as well as fog lights and a set of 17" M light-alloy wheels as standard, 18" optional. The interior of the 1-Series also sees a few changes with an M leather steering wheel with multi function (paddle shifters optional), an M shifter, aluminum pedals, and aluminum inserts. Sports seats are also present and can be donned in Black, Oyster, or Coral Red Nappa leather or in a combination of Hexagon Fabric / Alcantara. The new engine in the line-up is the 1.6-liter petrol engine that will be used in the BMW 116i and BMW 118i models in combination with BMW TwinPower Turbo technology. The different variations of this engine will range from 136 HP to 170 HP. 2012 BMW 1-Series Sport and Urban Line
BMW has unveiled today the first two models in the second generation 1-Series: the Sport and Urban Line, two versions that will provide added scope for personalization using exclusive interior and exterior design features and equipment. For the new generation all the 1-Series models will be offered with new BMW TwinPower Turbo technology and also it will be the first car in the world in its segment with optional eight-speed automatic transmission. For the new generation the 1-Series comes with increased dimensions: 85 millimeters longer, wheelbase 30 millimeters longer, front track 51 millimeters wider and rear track 72 millimeters wider that will all help the model to offer a better rear legroom. Also, new in the line-up is a 1.6-liter petrol engine with a total of 136 HP, while a 116 HP BMW 116d EfficientDynamics Edition will be launched in the near future. Updated 06/06/2011: After revealing the first details on the new generation 1-Series this week-end, BMW has also brought a first commercial video for the new model. Enjoy. Hit the jump to read more about the new generation BMW 1-Series. Updated 11/04/2011: BMW has unveiled today a new video in which they explain how the new 1-Sereis is being built at its Leipzig plant. We hope you will enjoy the video! Full story | featured reviews: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|