The BMW 1 Series M Coupe was probably the craziest car launched by the Bavarians in their more recent history. In an age when people (outside of the U.S.) were getting to grips with the idea that automatic transmissions were becoming the norm even in sports cars, this little furious critter came out and showed the world what it would be missing.
This car was a true M model and deserved the M1 name, but the manufacturer decided to avoid any confusion with the classic Bavarian sports car and went for the BMW 1 Series M Coupe nomenclature. Everyone just called it the 1M instead.
Originally, the 1M came with a 3.0-liter straight six engine that was a modified version of the units available on other BMW models at the time. However, in the Series 1 M Coupe, it produced 340 hp (at 5,900 rpm) and 332 lb-ft (450 Nm) of torque between 1,500 and 4,500 rpm.
But great as the engine was, the real talking points were the short wheelbase, the rear-wheel-drive and the fact it came equipped with a six-speed manual transmission. All these things made it a blast to drive, and also put the skill cap for mastering the 1M quite high. It wasn't exactly a Dodge Viper, but it could bite pretty hard.
What we're trying to say is that nobody really ever complained about it not having enough power. And yet here is one of the very few cars sold worldwide (6,309 in all) that has received a power boost. That came courtesy of a 5.0-liter V10 engine borrowed from an E60 M5. In its original state, it produces 507 hp, but on this tiny orange beast, it goes all the way to 550 hp.
Despite all that power and the fact it has a track at his disposal, the driver of this car isn't going anywhere fast. Instead, he's going all over the place showing impressive amounts of skill to send the BMW from one drift to another. It may be true that it's easier to drive sideways in this car than straight, but still.
Apart from miles per gallon (or liters per 100 kilometers), this BMW 1M Coupe's consumption is also measured in the millimeters of tire circumference that it burns in one minute. Judging by the copious amounts of smoke that sometimes make it hard to spot the action, we'd say it burned through one-quarter of an inch during the four minutes and a half of the video. What a ridiculously great piece of machinery.
"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie) Full profile
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