630-HP BMW M140i Has Hybrid Turbo, Killer Sleeper Looks, Spits Fire

To be fair, they also decided to make the switch from rear-wheel-drive (a rarity in the segment, but also one of the reasons the tiny BMW held such a special place in every car enthusiast's heart) to front-wheel-drive. The move further demonstrates the carmaker's desire to simplify things at the bottom of its model lineup and focus less on performance and more on efficiency.

If you want a rear-wheel-drive BMW 1 Series, you need to fold back to the F20 generation, the one that ended nearly two years ago when the FWD F40 model replaced it. That's exactly what British YouTuber TR Hamza did for his pretty insane build, but his choice was backed by one other reason as well.

Right now, the most powerful BMW 1 Series F40 you can buy is the M135i that develops 302 hp (306 PS) out of a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. Meanwhile, the F20 generation had the much more appealing M140i version with a 3.0-liter straight-six and 335 hp (340 PS) of stock output. Not a full-blown M car, but pretty darn close.

If you were to choose one with the aim of squeezing as much power out of the engine as you possibly could, which one would you go for? No need to answer that since we all know there's only one viable alternative. The B58 engine was deemed good enough to be mounted inside the G22 M440i, along with other BMW models, even though it improved on the 335 hp it produced for the M140i all the way to 382 hp (in mild hybrid form). Hell, you'll even find it under the hood of the new Toyota Supra, so the credentials are there.

However, Hamza isn't interested in any stock figures since one of the first things he did was install a Pure 800 hybrid turbo that guarantees to take the power output to a minimum of 586 whp on plain pump fuel. Put some higher-grade gasoline in the tank, however, or mix in some ethanol, and the B58 could put out as much as 734 whp, according to the turbocharger's manufacturer, provided a few other upgrades are in place.

Hamza's M140i build is still in its early stages, so his trip to the dyno doesn't yield such spectacular results, even though he came prepared with some ethanol mix. The runs you can watch below stop at around 534 whp, which is way below the manufacturer's claims. Still, factoring in the drivetrain loss calculation recommended by the dyno operator, you get an RWD BMW 1 Series that looks completely stock but hides up to 630 hp under its hood. And there's still room for growth, which we will definitely get to see in the coming videos. A drag race, too, no doubt about it.