BMW 135i M Sport: Spotted

Is this stubby 135i the cut-price M2 CS we have been looking for?

When the BMW M135i was launched in 2012 it arrived to such great fanfare that it might as well have been the first car ever to use round wheels, rather than the usual square ones. Somehow, it became the most important real-world performance car for a generation, helped by a glut of glowing reviews and evangelical owners. Plus a handful of suspiciously cheap lease deals.

But years, before that car had even been hinted at, there was another similarly badged BMW that, I reckon, was every bit as interesting. The 2007 135i received none of the hype or hysteria of the later M135i, though, and nor was there any sort of suggestion that it might have born of immaculate conception.

That original 135i M Sport Coupe, to use its full name, was forgotten the very moment the later car was launched and overshadowed entirely by the thumping 1M. In fact, even I, someone who was once pretty damn sure he'd own a 135i at some point, had forgotten the thing ever existed. It was based on the original 1 Series - the one with the slightly surprised-looking headlights - rather than the second generation 1 Series, which spawned the M135i. It was also only ever sold as a two-door coupe or cabriolet, not a three- or five-door hatch.

I was only reminded of the pugnacious little coop when reading about the forthcoming M2 CS earlier this week. That's a car to look forward to. If it does for the M2 what the CS upgrade did for the M4 - namely, give it the body control it always should have had - it'll be a truly brilliant performance car. But if it sells for anything less than £60,000 I'll be amazed.

For the vast majority of us, the M2 CS will go straight onto the 'maybe in five years' pile. But the 135i is well within reach right now, starting at less than £10,000 if you don't mind a slightly tatty one with a few miles behind it. A couple of thousand on top of that will buy a tidy, well-looked after car with around 50,000 miles.

Is the 135i a looker? Not really. It appears a little bit anaemic around the arches in photos, as though it needs a ruddy good feeding, but in the metal, it's actually more attractive. The stubby, rear-wheel drive proportions are at least quite suggestive.

It used the twin-turbo N55 straight six, the one that featured a pair of relatively small blowers to give good response at low revs. The puny M135i only had a single turbo. Rubbish. Peak power was 306hp, which always felt very punchy in what was actually a very small car. (The last few 135is actually switched to the single-turbo N55 engine).

The 135i was really good to drive, too. Nimble, darty, well controlled. A bit slidey if you wanted it to be. And then refined and reasonably practical, too. For £13,000 it seems like an awful lot of car, one that you could actually turn into a cut-price M2 CS if you took it to any number of tuning garages for a power upgrade, a limited slip differential and perhaps some decent springs and dampers.

Completely outshone by a younger sibling. Poor 135i. It's the Jamie Murray of the car world. Mind you, which racket-wielding Scot lasted longer at Wimbledon this year?

BMW 135I M SPORT COUPE
Engine: 2,979cc, inline-six turbocharged
Transmission: six-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 306@5,800rpm
Torque (lb ft): 295@1,300rpm
MPG: 30.7
CO2: 221g/km
Recorded mileage: 56,000miles
Year registered: 2010
Price new: £29,745
Price now: £13,450