Tag: M Coupe

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BMW

BMW drags out 1M Coupé tease even more

BMW 1M Coupe at the 2010 Autosport awards

The world’s longest ever new car launch took another step at the recent Autosport awards when BMW revealed yet another 5cm2 of 1 Series M Coupé bodywork. This time it is the rear valance we are seeing uncovered, in full, for the first time. The pics have been added to the Closed Room of the M-Power.com website and show Dr Kay Segler and British racing driver Andy Priaulx uncovering a bit more skin.

Thankfully, we won’t need to endure too much more of these shenanagins as it is expected the 1 Series M Coupé will be revealed, in full, on 12 December (likely to be Monday 13 December Australian time).

More pics after the break, showing even less than the one above!

[Source: M-Power.com]

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BMW

Could BMW make a 332kW 1M “CSL”?

BMW 1M CSL rendering

Apparently, by this time next week BMW will have lifted the wraps from its highly anticipated 1 Series M Coupé. But that hasn’t stopped the rumour mill from working overtime and we think most will like the latest 1M news to emerge.

Remember a couple of weeks back when we showed you that screen grab of engine specs, believed to be from an internal BMW source. Well, on that list was an N54B3OTO engine spec listed with 332kW (445hp). That’s a fairly healthy increase over the expected 250kW we will see in the 1M Coupé, right.

Turns out there is a chance that BMW, through a new Performance Program, could be getting ready to make a CSL-style 1M. The theory being this will be a nice little earner for the Munich massive while they’re busy developing the next model M3.

Is it really going to happen; well, we don’t know for certain. But it would be the perfect way to see out the 1 Series Coupé model cycle in 2012, that’s for sure!

[Source: Jon Sibal via BimmerFile]

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BMW

BMW 1M Coupé test drive winner tells all

BMW 1M Coupe test drive winner

Remember the competition BMW was running where the prize was one of 12 places at an exclusive 1 Series M Coupé prototype test drive event? Sounded pretty good, didn’t it. Well that event took place a few days ago. You can see a brief promo video from BMW after the break.

However, perhaps of more interest is a first-hand account of what this goose-pimple inducing 1M Coupé is like to drive. The chap on the left of frame above was one of the lucky few. He goes by the name of Woland’s Advocate on the 1addicts forum.

Here’s a taste of what he had to say, “The engine is astonishingly flexible with bags of torque to spare, so even at motorway speeds, strong effortless acceleration is available without shifting down from sixth. But when shifting is this slick, that would be a pity, especially given the engine’s epic mid-range punch. The gearshift’s throw has been shortened and the box on the car I tried was largely slick and intuitive—you can lightly flick it between gears with speed and precision.”

Follow the link below to get the whole story, it’s quite a good read.

[Source: 1addicts]

UPDATE: You can read another review from a 1addicts user HERE.

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Chris Harris drives 1M searching for the best of M people

Chris Harris drives the BMW 1M Coupé

Chris Harris has just driven a near production-ready BMW 1M Coupé. It was an odd gig, really; BMW flew him from London to Munich for a 20 minute test drive. Knowing his time would be brief, Harris compiled a list of the best things he likes about M-badged BMWs. When driving the prototype he cross-checked the feedback from the car against his “M car” list. He used words “like an M car” a number of times and concluded that he is “really, really excited” by the 1M Coupé and can’t wait to drive a full production version in the near future.

All of these thoughts were recorded to video and you can watch the clip after the break. Some of the audio is not great, but the content is definitely worth the effort. It sounds like the 1M Coupé has the potential to be future classic.

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BMW

Time for one more BMW 1M Coupé rendering

BMW 1M Coupé rendering

This is the most accurate rendering to date showing the rear of the BMW 1 Series M Coupé. It was created by resident 1addicts forum P-chop guru Alpine325ci and follows two previous efforts (all renderings are shown below). We got a hint of the rear valance just last week; there’s a lot of detailing there from the BMW designers and it’s almost starting to look a bit too fussy. Overall, though, it still gets the AUSmotive tick of approval.

A drive would be nice. But we’ll have to wait until 2011 for that, I’m afraid.

[Source: 1addicts]

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BMW

Another BMW 1M Coupé rendering

BMW 1M Coupé rendering

Despite looking like the real thing, this image is, apparently, a rendering prepared by forum user Alpine325ci. You may remember he also created the earlier renderings of the 1M Coupé. There’s still no official date for release, so you’ll just have make do with goose pimples for now.

[Source: 1addicts]

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BMW

BMW 1M Coupé previewed at US Oktoberfest show

BMW 1M Coupé

Earlier in the month we speculated the new BMW 1M Coupé might be revealed at the Oktoberfest show which was held in Wisconsin over the weekend. Well, we kind of got it right. The car was indeed on show at the Road America course, but all that was seen was the front left quarter panel as shown above.

However, even though the car was mostly under wraps this still revealed a few design elements of the bodykit that is wrapped around the newest and smallest M machine. Images sourced from BimmerFile show that there looks to be quite a large vent in the side panel, in between the front wheel and the door. At the rear of the car quad exhausts are clearly on view, but again, through the car cover you can get a glimpse of the rear valance and the unique styling that is likely to be apparent when the car has its full reveal (Paris Motor Show would now appear the most likely event for this).

The colour revealed on the car above is called Valencia Orange and will be the signature colour of the 1M Coupé. The wheels are 19″ in size and have been sourced from the M3 Competition Package. The front air intakes are very aggressive and could possibly have intercoolers behind them to assist the N54-based six cylinder engine.

Perhaps the other big news is that the 1M Coupé may be available with a manual transmission only. Costs of adapting BMW’s trick DCT to a car with a limited production run are believed to be behind that decision.

BmiierFile has been track side during the Oktoberfest event and they have a lot of information as a result. There’s also the promise of some exclusive details on the 1M’s engine in the next 24 hours or so. Stay tuned for that. In the meantime you can check two videos of the partial reveal of the 1M Coupé, one is the slick marketing piece direct from BMW, the other was filmed on location at Oktoberfest.

[Source: BimmerFile]

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BMW

BMW 1M Coupé to debut at US Oktoberfest show in August?

BMW 1 Series M Coupé

The BMW Car Club of America have posted a teaser on their forums which all but declares the 1 Series M Coupé will be revealed at their annual Oktoberfest show. Curiously this event is due to be held, not in October at all, but quite soon; from 23-29 August.

The forum post, added by the BMW CCA magazine editor is titled “Mystery car to tease members at Oktoberfest”. The text reads, in part, “Now there’s another fast, nimble ride warming up in the BMW wings. This car, too, was spawned by enthusiasts’ cries for what they wanted: a fast, light, nimble car. BMW’s solution: the—

“Wait! Wait! We can’t tell you!

“What’s beneath the wrapping? Here’s a hint: One of the guests in attendance is Dr. Kay Segler. You may remember when he was the BMW Group’s brand manager for Mini. But these days he holds a different position: He’s head of BMW M GmbH.”

Follow the source link below for the full text. If you’d just like to find out more about this Oktoberfest show check out the teaser video below, or take a look at the Oktoberfest website.

Of course, Dr Segler is also the bloke that told us via YouTube that the 1 Series M Coupé will give us all goose pimples. Take the jump for an encore viewing of Segler’s best work.

[Source: bmwcca.org]

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A pax lap inside the BMW 1 Series M Coupé

Chris Harris

Since last week’s news of the BMW 1 Series M Coupé emerged a number of videos from the Ascari track event have made their way on to YouTube. Journalists were offered passenger laps inside the 1M development prototype and one of the better clips is this one featuring Chris Harris from Evo. Harris had the foresight to interview driver Frank Isenberg and tried to extract new information from him.

Not much was given away, although Isenberg reckons the 1M could lap the Nürburgring in around 8:07, which is damn close to matching the time of the E92 M3. Indeed Eisenberg says, “Next week we will definitely know more.” It’s not clear if his words were in relation to a Nürburgring lap time or a general comment on the 1M. Well, next week is almost up, so let’s see what news comes to light in the next few days.

For his part Harris seemed quite impressed with the brief teaser he was given, describing the 1M as having a “lovely balance”. He also reckons the BMW boffins have done little to the 135i engine at this point other than remap the ECU and fit an uprated exhaust. Harris predicts the 1 Series M Coupé will have 340bhp (250kW).

The video from Harris and one other (embed feature disabled) can be seen after the break.

[Source: Evo via BimmerFile]

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BMW

A closer look at the 1 Series M Coupé

BMW 1 Series M Coupe soyshot

BMW were kind enough to give us an official tease of the 1 Series M Coupé on Friday. However, aside from the name, they’ve not given much else away, especially in the case of the car’s specification or equipment. That means we need to take a closer look at the pics available and start the guessing game.

Above you can see an interior shot of the car (or one of the cars) used in Friday’s tease. Keep in mind this is clearly a prototype and details are likely to change. The first things you can see are the steering wheel and front seats from the M3. On the dash are two-tone dials which might not make final production, but you can just make out an indicated redline of 7000rpm. Does that really tell us anything? Probably not, but it does match the current redline of the 135i.

Which brings us to the engine that will power the 1M. At initial launch the 135i was powered by the N54 twin-turbo 3-litre six, producing claimed figures of 225kW (300bhp) and 400Nm. It has since been replaced by the N55 single turbo 3-litre six, with twin scroll technology. Rated power and torque figures remained unchanged from the N54.

There seems to be some debate as to which engine the 1M will feature. For what its worth, the US spec 335is uses a tweaked N54 producing 243kW (320bhp)/502Nm. German publication Autobild is estimating the power of the 1M will be 340PS (250kW). Hmm, sounds suspiciously like the engine specs of the Z4 sDrive35is. Would BMW really adorn the M badge to an engine already found in a non-M model?

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Official teaser: BMW 1 Series M Coupé

BMW 1 Series M Coupé

BMW have made their first official announcement about the M-powered 1 Series. In doing so they have ended the “M1” naming speculation by confirming the name of the new hero model will be the 1 Series M Coupé.

The teaser video published today, available after the jump, features Dr Kay Segler from BMW M Division talking about the car. He’s pretty excited about it, using words like “we are here to realise dreams”, “you will not leave the car, you will not give the key to anybody else”, “you will have goose pimples” (yes, he really says that) and “it’s M pure, I guarantee that”.

BMW say they will confirm details of the 1 Series M Coupé before Christmas and European sales are expected in the first half of 2011.

Sounds very promising indeed. An abridged version of an interview with Dr Segler posted to the M-Power website can be read below, along with the feature video, of course. Also included are a handful of pics of the 1 Series M Coupé lapping the fabulous Ascari race track in Spain.

[Thanks to Dave & Wayne for the tips]

UPDATE 10 December: Official details have now been released—CLICK HERE.

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