128 M-sport package for North America?

[Brookside]

128 M-sport package for North America ?

Wild speculation on my part but ....doesn’t it make sense that the 128 will be offered with the M-Sport Package?
It is in Europe on the diesels...and since when does BMW pass up the opportunity to make more money with additional options?

You might say that the M-sport package turns the 128 into a poseur-mobile- on the other hand, it transforms the base 128’s bland exterior into the design that was meant to be there all along.

The following are various articles- both seem to poach the official annc. from BMW.



BMW 1-series coupe M-sport package for Euro-only diesels







Buyers abroad who've opted to equip their BMW 1-series coupe with diesel power now have the option to smack down a few euros on the table for some M-sport kit. The 120d and 123d models can now pack the same visual punch as the 135i, complete with M-specific 17-inch alloys wrapped in 205/50 rubber in the front and 225/45 gumballs in the rear. The package also includes new front and rear fascias, and naturally, there's plenty M-badging to differentiate it from its more sedate siblings. The cost for the additional bits runs 3,300 euros for the 120d and 2,100 euros for the upgraded 123d. source: autoblog


a 135 with what look to be 207M's?

First photos with the Bmw 1-Series Coupe M Sport Pack are here. With a stylish colour called LeMans Blue, Bmw shows us what its M logo can do: the 1-series coupe features 17 inch wheels, stylish front and rear spoilers and as you know, the things do not stop here. At the interior the new M pack brings us stylish sport seats with alcantara leather, M leather steering wheel with gearshift paddles and multifunctions, a sport gear knob and the individual anthracite headlining. Stay tuned…the official images and details will be revealed soon! source:4wheelsblog

[atr_hugo]

I don't know if it would be available from the outset or maybe next MY - but I would expect them to do something along those lines in this market. The only obstacle I see is their projected sales volumes. If the 1 series coupe is only expected to sell in the 1100 per month range here, there might not be enough incentive to add features to the 128i (especially if the 128i becomes a 'stripper' special - the fallback because the 135i is out of reach).

[BForbes]

It would be very wise for them to offer the M Kit on the 128i. I would love people to think that I'm 128i at quick glance.

[LeifW]

I would love it if they offered the M-Sport package on the 128. I don't think it's going to though. The M-Sport package has been offered on lesser models in Europe for years and it was never offered in the U.S. Don't hold your breath.

Leif

[larryn]

The only time they've offered an M Sport or M Aero package in the past (in the US) has been on the top model in the classes, like the 550i, 545i, 330i (ZHP), 330Ci, 330Cic....

They have offered similar kits as dealer installed aftermarket items though, but not from the factory. I doubt they would veer from this history with the 128i.

[imported_sbw]

I don't think BMW will offer an M sport pack for the 128i in North America. I think it will reserve the ultimate sporting interpretation for the 135i, which in so many ways is an M version of the 1 coupe even if it doesn't have the name (purpose-built M body work, big engine for the vehicle's size, big powerful brakes).

BMW seems to offer several M sport packs in Europe that never make their way over here. :iono:

[spudw]

I would be very happy if they offered it. I don't think it would be a poseur-mobile at all. It would be a 230bhp sport coupe with M enhancements to suspension and body kit... Nothing poseur about that.

[Brookside]

Originally Posted by spudwest

I would be very happy if they offered it. I don't think it would be a poseur-mobile at all. It would be a 230bhp sport coupe with M enhancements to suspension and body kit... Nothing poseur about that.

Agree Spud. I'm hoping it is on offer despite historical protocol.
European availabilty sets the precedent for N/A if they're going to break some rules.
The 1-er is about sport- no matter which version the consumer opts for.
M-package is in alignment with image.

[larryn]

Originally Posted by Brookside

Agree Spud. I'm hoping it is on offer despite historical protocol.
European availabilty sets the precedent for N/A if they're going to break some rules.
The 1-er is about sport- no matter which version the consumer opts for.
M-package is in alignment with image.

I hope they do offer it, but I bet they won't (except via a dealer installed add-on).

They've offered M-Packet packages to Europe for over a decade on the lesser powerful models, and it never made it here.

[Propagator]

I am skeptical, mainly because of the pricing. And here's my reasoning.

I think the M pack Brook is talking about here is basically what the 135i has as standard plus $1000 sports package. (Minus the alcantara seats, but I don't think they'll offer it only on the 128i and not on the 135i, so it is irrelevant.)

That puts the 135i with the full M pack at $7300 above the base price of the 128i. So the question is how much BMW can charge the M pack on the 128i before the price gap gets to be too close.

If BMW charges $3000 for it, then the difference between the two models, both with the M pack, will be only $4300. This seems too close to me, although others might disagree. I just don't see anywhere else in the auto industry where $4300 gets you extra 70HP and 100lbs-ft of torque.

So can we get the M pack with a price tag significantly lower than $3K? If yes, then it makes sense. But it doesn't seem very likely to me that the M pack will be so affordable.

I guess where I'm getting at is that the price differential between the two models looks fine at first glance, but that is only because the 135i comes with a good bit of the M pack standard. Considering the option contents, the 135i is a much better deal of the two, a lot more so than 328i vs. 335i. Allowing people to equip the 128i with the M pack will only encourage them to make more direct comparison between the two models, and consequently reallize what a crappy deal the 128i is. IMO, of course.

[ibeam81]

Unfortunately you really can't predict what BMW will do in NA based upon what they have done in Europe. BMW treats the European and NA markets very differently and although I think that they have this wrong, they clearly feel that they have it right.

BMW really limits the options available for NA and as others have said it's unlikely that they will offer the M Sport package on the 128i. As much as I would love to see a 123d M Sport offered, I think that it's about as likely as me finishing Einstein's Unified Field Theory. The diesels might show-up eventually, but I don't have much (if any) hope on the M Sport package.

[Dunbar]

I think Europeans are more likely to splurge on suspenion upgrades because of their curvy roads. That and the fact that while they may be able to afford a more powerful engine, they can't afford the cost to gas it up (hence the popularity of diesels.)

Americans are the opposite, there is no such thing as a curve in the US and gas is compartively cheap.

[LonghornTX]

It does not appear to be available for this MY, according to the official pricing documents distributed today.

[larry lawless]

It would be a great option but it would definitely take at least 6-12mths before it would come out in the US.

[icedragon]

For the 1-series, BMW will definitely offer a cosmetic M-sport package within 6-12 months.

Just like for the 3-series, they offered a cosmetic M-sport package within 12 months.

Remember, BMW is just another company, and companies want to make MONEY.