RE: New BMW 1 M Coupe planned

RE: New BMW 1 M Coupe planned

Thursday 14th March 2013

New BMW 1 M Coupe planned

BMW M boss wants another 1 M Coupe and drops further hints about new M4



Fans of small, fast BMWs rejoice – there’ll be a new 1 M Coupe! That’s if Dr Friedrich Nitschke, the CEO of BMW’s M division, has his way, of course. In an interview with American BMW website BMWBlog, Dr Nitschke has suggested that a new 1 M Coupe is a strong possibility for production. “We haven’t made a decision yet,” he said, “but the 1 M Coupe was so successful that, in my opinion, I am absolutely sure we will build a successor.” The new car could possibly badged M2 if, as is suspected, the next 1-Series Coupe is badged as a 2-Series.

An M4 spyshot, yesterday
An M4 spyshot, yesterday
Dr Nitschke also reaffirmed BMW M’s commitment to rear-wheel drive rather than four-wheel drive, stating categorically that “we will not bring in all-wheel drive, only a rear-wheel drive,” before going on to drop heavy hints that the 4 Series M car will indeed be badged M4.

“If there would be a 4 Series, and we were to produce an M car on that basis, then it would be called an M4,” he said. But that’s not all – later in the interview, discussing the way the M division learns from BMW’s motorsport teams, Dr Nitschke added that “We look for every feature we bring in our cars to use in the Motorsport version; we look at what we can bring to our latest M3 and M4 cars.” Seems M4 has slipped pretty easily into the BMW lexicon, then – but does the parity of that remark suggest that it’ll be joined in the range by an F30 M3 saloon, to rival the Mercedes C63 AMG, thus keeping the M3 nameplate alive? Certainly, Ian Robertson, BMW’s head of sales and marketing acknowledged at the launch of the 4 Series that “M3 is an iconic name. We have thought about that.” We’ll hopefully be finding out for sure later this year, as the new M3 (and, presumably, the M4 too) are expected to be revealed in the autumn.

Perhaps the last-ever M3 Coupe - yours for £20k
Perhaps the last-ever M3 Coupe - yours for £20k
If you can't wait for either car, there are plenty second-hand examples around, though it does look as thought the 1 M is holding its value rather well. This 3,000-mile example is the cheapest in our classifieds, and doesn't it look a corker? Finished in black, rather than launch favourite Valencia Orange, the 1 M packs a whole heap of menace into its tiny frame, and although it's rather a lot of money for a little car, it should offer one of the best M-car driving experiences around. Or if an E92 M3 Coupe is more your thing, this one, finished in Imola Red, should scratch that itch. The miles might be a touch on the large side but we reckon it could be had for sub-£20k with a bit of haggling, which seems like remarkably decent value for one of the best performance cars around - and, quite possibly, the last-ever M3 Coupe.

[Source: BMWBlog; M4 image: Darren Smith]

Author
Discussion

ukaskew

Original Poster:

10,642 posts

220 months

Thursday 14th March 2013
quotequote all
I'm sure this has been discussed before, but why do all current BMWs have the appalling new front end where the bottom section is shallower than the top? The BMWs pictured here look nicely proportioned, but any new ones you see on the road now look absolutely hideous.

Here's hoping the new 1M can keep the old front end.

GroundEffect

13,819 posts

155 months

Thursday 14th March 2013
quotequote all
I guess the design will be a bit existential, then?


zeduffman

4,054 posts

150 months

Thursday 14th March 2013
quotequote all
Wouldn't it be a 2M, or maybe an M2? I was under the impression the 1-series will be reserved for the hatch and a new 2-series will come out for the coupe version. Unless that was all just speculation based on the arrival of the 4-series?

vescaegg

25,489 posts

166 months

Thursday 14th March 2013
quotequote all
Hopefully this will mean the 'old' 1M will eventually fall within my grasp! biggrin

Scrof

197 posts

153 months

Thursday 14th March 2013
quotequote all
zeduffman said:
Wouldn't it be a 2M, or maybe an M2? I was under the impression the 1-series will be reserved for the hatch and a new 2-series will come out for the coupe version. Unless that was all just speculation based on the arrival of the 4-series?
Good point! Article now amended to reflect that!

wab172uk

2,005 posts

226 months

Thursday 14th March 2013
quotequote all
Bet it'll be an Auto only.

LuS1fer

41,085 posts

244 months

Thursday 14th March 2013
quotequote all
Old one looked more R2D2.

thecremeegg

1,952 posts

202 months

Thursday 14th March 2013
quotequote all
£37k and you don't even get satnav? Pah!


em177

3,127 posts

163 months

Thursday 14th March 2013
quotequote all
thecremeegg said:
£37k and you don't even get satnav? Pah!
I may need a Harris woosh parrot but I think your getting your priorities wrong wink

Burnham

3,668 posts

258 months

Thursday 14th March 2013
quotequote all
I almost cant wait for BMWs announcement of the new 9 Series.

Paul M

367 posts

203 months

Thursday 14th March 2013
quotequote all
So the new M3 Coupe will be the M4, old M3 saloon an M3 or no M3 at all in the future? What about a four door M3 coupe (as some four door cars are called coupes these days)- what will that be badged???

em177

3,127 posts

163 months

Thursday 14th March 2013
quotequote all
Paul M said:
So the new M3 Coupe will be the M4, old M3 saloon an M3 or no M3 at all in the future? What about a four door M3 coupe (as some four door cars are called coupes these days)- what will that be badged???
M3.5

dc2rr07

1,238 posts

230 months

Thursday 14th March 2013
quotequote all
'The miles might be a touch on the large side' (about the secondhand M3)

Would not consider 45,500 miles on the large side for a car that will be six years old later this year, that said they are getting into very tempting money.

WCZ

10,492 posts

193 months

Thursday 14th March 2013
quotequote all
should help stop the invincible residuals of the current 1m ?

Skylinecrazy

13,986 posts

193 months

Thursday 14th March 2013
quotequote all
wab172uk said:
Bet it'll be an Auto only.
No chance.


BS75

1,971 posts

165 months

Thursday 14th March 2013
quotequote all
em177 said:
Paul M said:
So the new M3 Coupe will be the M4, old M3 saloon an M3 or no M3 at all in the future? What about a four door M3 coupe (as some four door cars are called coupes these days)- what will that be badged???
M3.5
Surely M 3/4?

Amirhussain

11,486 posts

162 months

Thursday 14th March 2013
quotequote all
thecremeegg said:
£37k and you don't even get satnav? Pah!
1M was manual, guessing this will be too.

kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Thursday 14th March 2013
quotequote all
Why are several cars that have had largely positive comments, scoring so low on the meter thingie? The Fiesta ST is the same.

aeropilot

34,297 posts

226 months

Thursday 14th March 2013
quotequote all
This is hardly news is it?

The M2/M3/M4 situation has bee nknown about for 18 months at least rolleyes

elvismiggell

1,635 posts

150 months

Thursday 14th March 2013
quotequote all
BS75 said:
em177 said:
Paul M said:
So the new M3 Coupe will be the M4, old M3 saloon an M3 or no M3 at all in the future? What about a four door M3 coupe (as some four door cars are called coupes these days)- what will that be badged???
M3.5
Surely M 3/4?
M3GC would be my bet.