Many of you read with great excitement
our reviews of the 1m on our recent trip to Willow Springs, CA for the press launch of this vehicle. After coming down of from another "M High" while driving what is labeled, "The fastest road in the west!", I knew exactly where my first trip would be once I was handed the keys to BMW's new addition to its M fleet....the 1 Series M.
As one of the instructors of 10 years at BMW's Performance Driving School, one of our many tasks at the Performance Center is to mileage their new cars for the 1,200 mile break-in. Well, today after returning from outside our facility, I found on my desk the keys to a new 1m with only 67 miles on the odometer. Having had many laps around Willow Springs a couple of weeks ago, I think we all concluded that this extremely fast track just did not showcase the huge amount of torque that this 6 cylinder is capable of producing. Having spent most of my life on the roads of western North Carolina, I knew just the route that would be this M's maiden voyage. My wife has seen this same gleam in my eyes when I told her after dinner with the 1m's keys in my hand....let's take off for a 2 hour trip. I have the kyes to an M car...we have some of the best roads in all of North America within 30 mintues of our house....let's go! This is like handing a 16 year old a Playboy and tell him not to look at the pictures...yeah right! I am going driving! Now keep in mind, I drive these cars at the Performance Center everyday and sometimes become de-sensitized to the excitement that these cars produce; however, I could not wait to return to the car for what was about to come as evidenced from the following photo:
My wife & I left southwest out of Asheville, NC toward Brevard and then up Hwy. 276. This snakes up thru the Pisgah National Forest with a final destination on the Blue Ridge Parkway of over 5,000 ft. with temperatures dropping from the low 80's while in Asheville to 67 degrees at the top. On this stretch, you can find just about any kind of corner you could be looking for from a slow hairpen to some fast sweepers. I cannot hold my excitement for this car! I cannot remember about being anymore excited about a car as I am with the new 1 Series M!! WOW! Thinking it was fast at Willow Springs just did not do this car justice!! This car is nothing less than a rocket! Forget about anything else...this car represents what the BMW brand is all about!! For those of us that think it is more than just going from point A to point B, this car bring enjoyment to the seat of your pants!
These roads allowed me to unleash the torque & h.p. and were designed for this car! Fortunately for us, in the middle of the week and late in the evening gave us a run to the top of the mountain without ever seeing another car....just about unheard of on this popular stretch of NC mountain roads. With a few straights allowing the car to approach triple digits to the tight hairpins at 30mph, now I understand the passion that the owners will soon experience. As are all BMWs, the brakes on the 1m are awesome! Very little pedal travel and very sensitive which allows the driver to peel off 40mph in an instant!
Several times I looked over at my wife as the car was loaded to one side as we negotiated a long sweeping corner to see the same excitement on her face which gave her a small hint of why I love doing what I get to do everyday with BMW. WOW...this car has some grip and quickly encourages the driver with more confidence to give it more!! At about 4,000 rpms and full throttle...you had better hang on as the torque pushes you to the back of your seat!
As mentioned in my earlier post, if you are on the list for one of these then you are lucky....if not, then you should be!
Donnie Isley
BMW Driving Instructor