Chris Harris rides shotgun in a BMW 1M Coupe with BMW’s Frank Isenberg

Every time we see Chris Harris inside a car, we can’t help but wonder how this dude managed to score a job like that. Not only does he get to drive some of the fastest and most beautiful cars on the planet, but he also gets paid to do it. Can’t say that he hates his job, can he?

This time, during the launch of the BMW M3 GTS at the Ascari race track in Spain, Harris, together with a number of other surprised auto journalists, was given a treat of a lifetime by being given a chance to ride shotgun with Frank Isenberg, BMW Driver Training’s top dog on board a prototype version of the new BMW 1M Coupe. This particular BMW is an off-shoot 1-Series that traces its direct lineage to the Bavarian automaker’s M line of sports cars.

During Harris’ turn in the passenger seat, he tried to coax Isenberg to divulge the specifications under the 1M’s hood to which Isenberg expertly deflected the question by saying, “Listen to it.” Nevermind that Harris and the rest of the auto scribes weren’t given the full lowdown on the car because most of them seem to think that the 1M Coupe is being powered by an N54 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged straight-six engine that produces about 340 horsepower.

One thing we do know after watching this video: Chris Harris is a lot more talkative when he’s behind the wheel of a car than when he was riding shotgun. But the man still knows his cars and most of his observations while Isenberg was driving the camouflaged 1M Coupe were spot-on.