Monday 17th September 2012

BEST 1M Coupe

Another tuning package for the 1M, with a classic choice of paint

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When you see this BEST-tweaked BMW 1M Coupe painted in what appears to be the classic BMW shade of Estoril Blue, it seems a shame that the factory only ever offered it in orange, black or white.

Paint can make or break a car. Porsche's Cayman R press cars seemed to be exclusively bile green, but white ones look far better. A Mercedes SLS seems almost dull in the oft-seen silver, but red really ramps up the visual excitement. All a matter of opinion I suppose.

20in Schmidts have a whiff of retro

Anyway, apart from a very desirable paint scheme, what does this modified 1M Coupe offer? 20-inch wheels from Schmidt Revolution are the major external change. Ironically, given the success of the paint, these don't look as good as the standard 1M's 19-inch Y-spoke rims. KW coilovers lower the ride height, while the usual one-two of ECU remap plus Bastuck exhaust liberates a claimed extra 85hp from the twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre straight-six, taking it to 425hp. No performance figures have been released by BEST, but if those claims are accurate it should shift a bit.

[DanDC5]

I think aussieinlondon's car looks better to be honest.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Edited by DanDC5 on Monday 17th September 13:10

[Cotty]

That colour does look fabulous
Does seem to have a lot of ground clearence at the rear

[ws323f]

My old 323F was Estoril blue, awesome colour !

[Papa Hotel]

I like that, it's looks very nasty. The wheels alone look like they'd take a baseball bat to anyone dawdling in the BMW lane.

[sagarich]

Like the colour, hate the wheels!

[anonymous-user]

sagarich said:

Like the colour, hate the wheels!

+1

[GilesGuthrie]

Good colour, and I like the wheels, but it's too low for me. There's either no suspension travel at all, or there's some major clearance issues at the front. At its current ride height it's too MAX POWER for me. Raise it an inch and we'll talk.

[Colt91]

yonex said:

sagarich said:

Like the colour, hate the wheels!

+1

+2 This colour in exactly the same spec as Aussielondon's would look stunning!

[pidsy]

Still one of the nicest cars available today - in standard form.

Like the estoril blue, but i agree with others that the new wheels dont do the job.

[mat205125]

Yes to the colour, however I'd love to see it on the standard CSL style rims.

[Gadgeroonie]

how much does one like this cost ?

[Terminator X]

Prefer it in white myself, nice white one in "readers cars" section on here (is it called that, might be some confusion with readers wives?).

TX.

[Carnnoisseur]

Estoril is a fabulous colour. Loving the aggressive stance in these pics, awesome bit of kit.

[C8LNJ]

I've just sold my E36 Evo in Estoril blue, it really is a great colour!!

[pidsy]

Wonder what it would look like in estoril blue with the original wheels painted white or black.

[tommy vercetti]

Love the colour, would look much better with CSL alloys, imo.

[OlberJ]

I think that looks awful.

colour doesn't suit the lines, wheels look gash and that front bumper!



/tuppence

[Cotty]

GilesGuthrie said:

Good colour, and I like the wheels, but it's too low for me. There's either no suspension travel at all, or there's some major clearance issues at the front. At its current ride height it's too MAX POWER for me. Raise it an inch and we'll talk.

You are kidding, right?

[wormburner]

Too much wheel. Lost its delicacy.

[DanDC5]

Cotty said:

GilesGuthrie said:

Good colour, and I like the wheels, but it's too low for me. There's either no suspension travel at all, or there's some major clearance issues at the front. At its current ride height it's too MAX POWER for me. Raise it an inch and we'll talk.

You are kidding, right?

Sure that would make it higher than standard.