Autocar review of the BMW 1-Series M Coupe

[SCOTT26]

Another Review , And again they love it...

http://www.autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/...-Coupe/253281/

What is it?
Well, it looks the business. When you see the BMW 1-series M Coupé in the metal, it’s hard not to be impressed. Even with the taped disguise of this pre-production prototype, it is clear that this is more than just a warmed-over version of BMW’s price-leading two-door.

It’s not beautiful. But the added visual muscle and ground-hugging stance of the new entry-level M-car raises expectations of the performance lurking within. It’s a shot of attitude before you’ve even climbed into the contoured driver’s seat and hit the starter button.

The 1-series M Coupé’s new aluminium wings have been widened by 80mm over the steel panels of its standard sibling to accommodate a longer front track and trick new rear axle. Combine this with a 10mm lowering in ride height and you’ve got the basis for a purposeful-looking car whose appearance is enhanced ever further by a deep front bumper that houses cooling ducts for its twin-turbo 3.0-litre straight six engine.

What's it like?
One thing’s for sure: the new M-car doesn’t lack shove. Its engine is a development of the updated unit used in the Z4 sDrive35iS. As with so much of this car’s mechanical package, BMW is not divulging much about it at all. But with a host of typical performance-enhancing changes – including larger turbochargers, additional boost pressure and unique mapping – power and torque are said to be somewhere north of the Z4’s 335bhp and 332lb ft of torque.

The thing that grabs your attention as you pull away is its flexibility. It will accept sixth gear at 1000rpm without any unruly shunt and continue to pull hard towards the business end of the range without any dip in demeanour.

It’s under load in low gears, though, where it does its best work. Planting your foot in second induces the sort of rolling acceleration to match the 414bhp V8 M3 and it feels terrifically urgent right up to its 7000rpm limit.

Apportioning drive is a six-speed manual gearbox, the only choice for buyers. However, the car does get the same rear axle as the M3, complete with its electronically controlled M differential for more engaging driver appeal and big levels of traction. Nothing’s official, but expect a 0-62mph time of around 5.0sec and a top speed limited to 155mph.

Our prototype had clearly led a hard life and was not fully representative of the final production version of the new M-car, which makes its debut at the Detroit motor show in January before going on sale in the UK in May.

Still, there was sufficient evidence to suggest it will be stiff competition for the current crop of performance coupés. Changes to the suspension provide a noticeably more fluid feel than the standard 1-series, with more enthusiastic turn-in and added levels of grip. The electro-mechanical steering, for all its accuracy, delivers little feedback on centre but it is quite direct, at 2.4 turns lock to lock.

There’s a little initial roll, but the lightened body settles quickly to provide a flat cornering stance. And with that trick differential juggling drive between the rear wheels, you can lean on it at the exit without any premature breakaway or activation of the stability control system. The new BMW also rides acceptably, even on the 35-profile rubber fitted to our prototype. It’s firm, but not overly so.

Should I buy one?
So, for out-an-out performance and pure driving dynamics, the 1-series M Coupé is quite an improvement on the already talented 135i coupé upon which it is heavily based. The question is: will potential buyers be prepared to stump up the extra £10,000 to gain membership to the M division club? On looks alone, it will be worth it.

Greg Kable

[Dackelone]

a quote from the article..."The electro-mechanical steering, for all its accuracy, delivers little feedback on centre but it is quite direct, at 2.4 turns lock to lock."

That is some new news! I thought only the euro 125i's got th electro steering. ? And this car has a faster steering box too.

Something is bothering me though... all these magazine tests have been "spoon fed" to the writters and us. All the pictures are obviously taken by BMW AG. Even the driver looks the same in all the "mag test" so far. Seems like this is just an elaborate marketing exercise to me. Is this the new //M ?

[Madozu]

I wonder how close to the final 1M this mule is. Especially steering feedback is essential for a car that is fun to drive. I personally can live wit little feedback on centre ... but I definitely need feedback to feel whether I'm approaching (or exceeding) the slip angle on the front wheels ...

[HERR FSTIR]

with a host of typical performance-enhancing changes – including larger turbochargers

If accurate, this statement is big news.

Two of these early reviews indicate the car pulls hard up to 7000 rpm, which if true, indicates some sort of upgrade on the turbo setup.

This would really be fantastic news, as it means the Achilles heel of the n54 - running out of steam above 5500 rpm - has been addressed.

[bluespeed117]

An M with 31 mpg? That would sell it for me.

[skiernan36]

i really wish this had DCT..oh well, maybe in the future

[Wolf]

Hope to get it someday... keeping my fingers crossed for DCT

[niuniu]

Originally Posted by bluespeed117

An M with 31 mpg? That would sell it for me.

Sell it for nearly anyone with some sense who uses sport cars as a daily driver. The 1M, for all the beating it has taken over the past year is starting to look like it's going to triumph.

I have a feeling that when the post-release reviews come out about how fun the car is to drive, all the hangups people have will go right out the window and the 1M will be a real driver's dream machine.

[HERR FSTIR]

Originally Posted by niuniu

I have a feeling that when the post-release reviews come out about how fun the car is to drive, all the hangups people have will go right out the window and the 1M will be a real driver's dream machine.

This is really the issue. With only ~500 cars coming to the USA, if the car turns out to be exceptional then availability is going to be a major problem.

[cpippolo]

Originally Posted by bluespeed117

An M with 31 mpg? That would sell it for me.

Where did you see 31mpg? That would be sweet, but can't imagine it. The slightly less powerful, and presumably lighter, Z4is only gets 17/24, 335is coupe 18/26. Hard to see this one doing much better. Even the N55 135 only gets 20/28 with manual.

[positiveions]

and now showing of the car yet

[mojo_78613]

With all these recent reviews for the much anticipated 1M or M1, no one seams to mention whether a better and more reliable HPFP will be introduced... Thoughts???

Cheers!!!

Mo

[uhn2000]

Enough of this already.. OMG.

[1978.530i]

The more I see, and the more I read, the more I WANT.

[Alext]

It mentions BIGGER TURBOCHARGERS!

[niuniu]

Originally Posted by HERR FSTIR

This is really the issue. With only ~500 cars coming to the USA, if the car turns out to be exceptional then availability is going to be a major problem.

I think you're going to be right about that. BMW may have looked at the CSL and M Coupe figures and thought these sort of cars didn't sell well so the 1MC's numbers will be fine. But the CSL didn't sell in the States, was quite pricey for it's time, and the M Coupe didn't have rear seats. The 1M hasn't any of these barriers.

The other thing is that when it actually is released, the car will be known to the general public, not just a handful of enthusiasts and car reviewers. The general public will see an affordable BMW icon that's getting (hypotheically) great reviews.

Personally I'm less certain about the production numbers now than I was before the Paris release..

[Rawhide]

If they get popular BMW will build more. They're not going to let a profit opportunity pass them by.

May have to wait another year though.

[cheese on fried toast]

all of the articles to come out seem to be the same abit dodgy, bmw seem to have there fingers in many a pie

[as7920]

From Scott's replies and more recent media comments it would seem to me that the number of units is not what will be limited, but the production run itself.

Originally Posted by SCOTT26

.......Also something being run about is the car is not as limited as it is made it to be. It will be on the market for just under a year.

So we may not be looking at 2700 units exactly but a production run of 12 months.

Mark.

[BBK]

Yeah these reviews are basically the same!

It seems like nobody want's to say anything bad about it, or have driven it enough on their own to make a proper judgement. Which makes these set of reviews quite pointless...

[Smokey]

Originally Posted by BBK

Yeah these reviews are basically the same!

It seems like nobody want's to say anything bad about it, or have driven it enough on their own to make a proper judgement. Which makes these set of reviews quite pointless...

+1, these should be called previews not reviews cause they're just not detailed enough

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by HERR FSTIR

If accurate, this statement is big news.

Two of these early reviews indicate the car pulls hard up to 7000 rpm, which if true, indicates some sort of upgrade on the turbo setup.

This would really be fantastic news, as it means the Achilles heel of the n54 - running out of steam above 5500 rpm - has been addressed.

That's great news, especially for tuners.

There is a recent thread with a 135i who had a shop custom tune his 135i N54. The power curve achieved is one of the best I've seen, if not the best.
The engine pulls to at least 7K and the graph actually shows it going a bit higher, which was very surprising.
I asked if this was true, and we're waiting for the tuner to respond if indeed he raised the limit.

The N54 has always had potential. If that new tune is correct, then it seems there always was potential for higher rpm power.
Most of the tunes we see for N54's have shown big low rpm bumps.
Maybe it was tuned this way to create bigger numbers for sales of tunes.
This new tune shows a more progressive torque build that doesn't show big low rpm numbers, but climbs nicely with very big mid rpm torque carrying nicely to red line.

Looks like M took the same approach, and added better breathing larger turbos.
The question is, did they use the next size TD04, or did they keep the quicker revving TD03 and do some porting and clipping?
That would keep the near zero lag and still allow better top end breathing.
Nearly all the reviews talk about the near zero or zero lag, so I'm wondering if M really did go with larger turbo's?
Perhaps they used better flowing down pipes to help move the exhaust and achieve near zero lag with larger turbo's.
Either way I think tuners will be happy.