RE: Officially official: BMW 1-series M for 2011

[kambites]

I never thought I'd see someone call the 1-series "beautiful".

[Mr Whippy]

geoffracing said:

sootyrumble said:

Well where they went wrong is all the cars have got to big they should rebrand as below :-)

135M = M3
M3 = M5 Coupe
M5 = M7

Quite right this.
But most makers do this:
The best example is the Opel Kadett.
"Kadett" or "cadette" means "the smallest". But as the Kadett grew up, they had to make a smaller car: the Corsa. The Corsa is very slowly becoming larger, and soon they will have to create an other baby Opel!

Same with the small VW Polo... they had to make the Lupo so as to again have a small car!

Exactly, and that is why the new M5 will be a piece of ste, because it's basically an uberfast grippy barge.

The E30 M3 ethos/size/power/power to weight isn't replicated anywhere in todays BMW line up. The M3 CSL got close but that is it.

A 1 series M isn't even going to be close either... cripes, the E9X 320Si was the closest they got recently, and that was probably because it was a homologation car!


Dave

[Gizmo!]

havoc said:

Zod said:

Gizmo! said:

Fittster said:

Ne0 said:

Fittster said:

It will be interesting to see how it's priced, hopefully around 35K.

Hopefully but given that a poverty spec 135i is about £30k, BMW will more than likely be looking c45k for this...

That would seem rather optimistic as it puts it head to head against a Cayman S.

Sounds about right. 360-380bhp, RWD, LSD, and with back seats it'll be slightly heavier but slightly more practical than the Cayman.

and quicker if the seats are folded down.

Don't start with that again!


Actually, if we're talking that sort of power, and that sort of price, why not spend £35k on a tidy Sagaris (or less on a T350), and put the change away for (a) trackdays and (b) potential repair bills. Chances are depreciation will be substantially less anyway, so you'll save again come resale...

My point was that the "///1" would be the practical option. Sagaris/T350 are two-seaters are they not?

[tomv1to]

I'm actually really intrigued by this car. I would never have considered a BMW before, and the 1 series isn't exactly the most beautiful car in the world to look at it from side. But I think the front of the car looks quite pretty, and its nice to see that there is still a manufacturer happy to put big engines in little cars whilst all other manufacturers are using smaller engines and just slapping turbo's on.

Provided the price isn't radically high I could definitely see myself looking at these in two years time as an upgrade (although such things are always hypothetical.)

[3ftandclean]

I had a135i and it was great fun. If they can improve the cornering to somewhere near that of an M3 it'll be a brilliant little car. 350 bhp and 320lbs/ft would suit it just fine. The steering weight of my 135i was better than that of my current e90 M3 as was the clutch action.
It'll do at least 30 to the gallon and emit under 220g/km which would make it a fine everyday car. I for one will be after a test drive.

[Deranged Granny]

kambites said:

I never thought I'd see someone call the 1-series "beautiful".

It was their first post...

[pilchardthecat]

haidergill said:

pilchardthecat said:

BlueEyedBoy said:

Please make it as a 3 door too, not just that horrendous coupe!

Strange, i think the 3 door is fuglier by far. The coupe looks a lot better, although none of the 1ers are catwalk models, it's the best of them.

I think the 1 series are contemporary and beautiful rathther than bland, boring and conservative. Overall I think Chris Bangle has revolutionised automtive design with his flame-surfacing. This can clearly be seen as most new car are adopting elements of flame-surfacing.

I have a 1 series coupe and not even i would call it beautiful! It looks great from the side, ok from the front, but distinctly odd from the rear quarter. It's much better to drive than any of it's competition though.

[130R]

Mr Whippy said:

The E30 M3 ethos/size/power/power to weight isn't replicated anywhere in todays BMW line up.

Because there is no market for such a car. You could always buy this, strip everything out of it, then stick a cage in it. Eh voila, you have a 1-series CSL.

[Gizmo!]

130R said:

Mr Whippy said:

The E30 M3 ethos/size/power/power to weight isn't replicated anywhere in todays BMW line up.

Because there is no market for such a car. You could always buy this, strip everything out of it, then stick a cage in it. Eh voila, you have a 1-series CSL.

Which would be a cult car. And sell at least five.

Without checking at all, I bet the E30 M3's PWR is matched by many of the current range though...

[aeropilot]

R66STU said:

i went to a bmw open day a month ago. there was a FULLY loaded 1 series there, it was the 3.5 turbo. and looked really cool..

i asked how much it was and the guy said.. 'this one with all the extras will cost you 52k' to say i nearly choked on my coffee would be an uderstatment !!


i mean come on !! you can buy a base model M3 (new one with the v8) for that money

it reall takes the biscuit. so god knows hom much a 1m will cost.. let alone fully loaded.

Someone is telling porkies.....as if you tick every available option on a 135i you only just get above 40k
I know as I did this very recently for a bit of fun when I was speccing up my 135i.

[Oddball RS]

kambites said:

Escort Si-130 said:

GO on a diet, the car is light enough dude.

kambites said:

Please BMW, make the thing lighter, not just more powerful.

You think 1500kg is "light enough" for a "small" coupe?

I seem to remember my Mk1 GT3 was about 1375Kg's?

[Luca Brasi]

R66STU said:

what litre is it ? 3.0 turbo .. twin turbo ?

The new x35i engines have one twinscroll turbo.

I'm afraid the E9x M3 will be last of a breed

An M-car with a turbo just isn't right.

[Captain Flashman]

Will it have a proper diff and will they retro fit the hydraulic steering rack used in the earlier 1 series and remove the electric one they use currently?

[Fittster]

tomv1to said:

its nice to see that there is still a manufacturer happy to put big engines in little cars whilst all other manufacturers are using smaller engines and just slapping turbo's on.

" the new baby M-car will use a more powerful version of the 135i's 302bhp turbocharged straight six for its motive power."

[haidergill]

kambites said:

I never thought I'd see someone call the 1-series "beautiful".

I come from an artistic background and appreciate avante-garde contemporary design of the 1, discontinued Z4 and 5 series. I have no problem with old design for buildings, cars etc... I think in the future more people will come to realise how timeless Bangle's designs are. Compare the Bangle's 5 series to the old E Class. The Bangle 5 series hasn't dated. If you look at his Fiat Coupe design, it still looks modern today after nearly 20 years. I think Bangle is a visionary. Automotive design from other marques are just starting to catch up. Flame-surfacing is becoming more and more common now with pretty much all manufacturers incorportaing it into their designs.

[TheRoadWarrior]

In general I really like how the exterior of the 1 series coupe looks, its that curving side skirt line that spoils it for me.

[haidergill]

Deranged Granny said:

kambites said:

I never thought I'd see someone call the 1-series "beautiful".

It was their first post...

Each to their own I suppose...Do you like Mock Tudor?;)

[Mr Whippy]

130R said:

Mr Whippy said:

The E30 M3 ethos/size/power/power to weight isn't replicated anywhere in todays BMW line up.

Because there is no market for such a car. You could always buy this, strip everything out of it, then stick a cage in it. Eh voila, you have a 1-series CSL.

That is the problem though.

The markets don't make cars that are actually that exciting, by and large, except where the market being targetted is for an exciting car to start with.

All the best sporty interesting more mainstream cars didn't have much of a market for them. Clio V6, original Focus RS, original RS2/RS4, E30 M3 etc... either random one-off cars, or for homologation purposes etc.

Dave

[haidergill]

kambites said:

In many ways I think AMG have held more true to their ethos than M. AMGs have pretty much always been about shoehorning a huge engine into everything they can get their hands on, recently the M division seem to have started copying them.

M cars have to be everyday cars and yet still at the same time be road-racers. Evo, Scoobys and RS Porsches wouldn't be able make the grade in the refinement area. Car have evolved since the first M3 came out. We have alot more creature comforts even in an average 4 door saloon.

[kambites]

haidergill said:

kambites said:

In many ways I think AMG have held more true to their ethos than M. AMGs have pretty much always been about shoehorning a huge engine into everything they can get their hands on, recently the M division seem to have started copying them.

M cars have to be everyday cars and yet still at the same time be road-racers. Evo, Scoobys and RS Porsches wouldn't be able make the grade in the refinement area. Car have evolved since the first M3 came out. We have alot more creature comforts even in an average 4 door saloon.

True, but I don't see what that's got to do with my post.