Bmw 1 Series Coupe

BMW 1M coupe at one with the spirit of the original M concept

The closest link to the original E30 M3: That's what they're saying about the new BMW 1-Series M Coupe. Quite some mantle.

I've never had the honour of steering that landmark series-starter, but can recall how brilliant it was on the circuit. The sheer speed and its hauntingly unique scream was something else around the Wellington waterfront, and elsewhere on the late-1980s and early-1990s world touring car stage.

Is driving the 1M on the Hampton Downs track a case of history repeating? Well, sort of. The timbre of this car's twin-turbo six is quite different from that of the original's four-cylinder 2.3, being somewhat deeper-throated and less staccato. But, it's special enough to make hair stand.

The real thrill, though, comes from the manner in which this car attacks a track. It's not just the sheer stonk, of which there is more than enough to leave that classic M3 standing. What really appeals is how it's so confident and chuckable; utterly, compellingly, rivetingly, breathtakingly on the button.

My co-pilot, BMW performance driving instructor and M3 racer Mike Eady, reckons transforming a 1M into a decent circuit giant would require little more than the formality of stripping out the interior, bunging in a roll cage and throwing on some slicks. I'm inclined to agree.

In creating such a simple, incisive, ballistic and ballsy car, BMW has started, after all, with exactly the right base. The 135i coupe, in its own right, is a top enthusiast's machine: Superb balance, brilliantly reactive steering and super engine are great starting points.

Enhance all this with a substantial increase in power and torque, chuck in all the classic M ingredients, plus a dollop of some mean (and meaningful) styling and send it to market at a price that, while expensive for a small car, still shouts "bargain" within the M family.

Yup, suddenly it's 1986, Robert Palmer's Addicted to Love is playing on the radio and we're all raving about what a great film Platoon was.

Well, to a point. The 1M definitely takes a step back in time by returning to basics in choice of transmission, being manual-only, and is more bare-boned than the current M3 in terms of driving aids. Yet it's not exactly rudimentary, with dynamic stability control, standard climate control, satellite navigation, Bluetooth, and the like all included.

However, it is serious. You've massive kapow for a car weighing less than 1500kg. Adding in the M3's brakes, a trick limited-slip differential, aluminium dampers, massive tyres, and a beefed-up sub-frame and suspension components further reminds that it's not a car to be trifled with.

BMW 1 Series M Coupe Drifts Around U.S. Bank Tower Helipad

WOODCLIFF LAKE, New Jersey — BMW has released a second part to its MPowered Performance video series, this time showing the 1 Series M Coupe drifting around the helipad on top of California's largest building — the U.S. Bank Tower.

The first video in the series showed the 1 Series M Coupe drifting through what looks like concrete walls around an airstrip, and now the Bavarian automaker has released another video with the performance coupe drifting in a circle around the tenth largest building in the country.

The 1 Series M Coupe drifts in a perfect arc around the helipad in the short bit, nearly sliding off the edge before it ends the drift resting in the middle of the circular makeshift tarmac. Although CGI is clearly incorporated into the act, BMW does an almost flawless job making it look like the car is actually drifting at 1,018 feet on the Tower.

Salesman George looked genuinely sad as he quietly cast his eyes downward at his feet.  In fact I am certain that I saw his right eye begin to moisten as he explained to me that my BMW dealer long ago sold its entire allotment of six cars, had a waiting list of 18 names behind the original six sales, and had no hope of finding additional cars to sell.   Now I am happy to say that a few months have passed since that very upsetting day.  The doctors say that following months of intensive therapy and massive quantities of mind altering drugs, my prognosis is improving.  And hey I am very happy to report that the hours of endless involuntary twitching seems to have nearly drawn to a close.   So, you see, a car dealer that will not accept a virtual blank check for some odd looking little compact car festooned with all manner of fender flares, scoops, and decorated in gallons of strange orange paint that neither the Golden Gate Bridge nor the Denver Bronco's Football Team would accept; well that car simply cannot exist, right?

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