Johnny's 3-Series was unrecognisable
BMW is hatching plans to revive the ‘spirit’ of its 30-year-old M1 in a brand new supercar with 21
century green credentials.
The story has been broken in this week’s Autocar magazine, which claims to have information from a source inside the company who has seen early design proposals.
BMW’s new ‘ultimate driving machine’ is scheduled to be launched in 2012, when it will compete with the Audi R8 and new Mercedes SLC, says the report.
The new supercar is described as a ‘puristic two-seater drawing on all the latest BMW technology’, so expect to see lightweight build and and a powertrain that uses bits and pieces from BMW’s Efficient Dynamics programme – direct injection, brake energy regeneration and stop-start among others.
The new M1 is likely to have a version of BMW’s 3.0 six mounted amidships, and will apparently combine supercar performance with economy and emissions better than a mid-range 5-series.
Although BMW revealed a glamorous M1 Homage concept earlier this year, it was described purely as a celebration of the classic M1’s 30th anniversary, and so seems unlikely to reflect the look of a 2012 spiritual successor. But PH never let the facts get in the way of a good picture, and this latest story gives us the excuse we needed to wheel it out again!
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