Hear the New BMW 1 Series Hot Hatch Starts Its Engine at the Nurburgring

The performance model has many names, including M135i, M140i, "M130iX M Performance" and, our favorite, "not as fast as the A45 AMG. But just because it comes with a 2-liter instead of an inline-6 doesn't mean it's bad, right?

BMW has started to play this one very close to the heart. They initially let slip that the X2 M35i would have 300 HP, but now what this M135i prototype is spotted at the 'Ring about once a week, they're saying nothing at all. We'd do that too if our competitors were working on some crazy hybrid tech, as AMG and VW R are said to.

Of course, you can't count horsepower in a spy video. But we find that the prototype sounds a little fruitier than a Golf R. It also has a more neutral classic setup instead of being just front-biased. A performance X2 is also testing at the track, and we wonder why BMW is making cars that are similarly sized.

I think people forget one thing about the M140i and the 1 Series in general. They weren't great because they had the most power in the segment, but because they offered the BMW values for not a lot of money. This new hot hatch should do the same. And if you love the Focus RS just as much as Bavarian cars, you should give this one a chance.

The boss of the BMW M division previously stated that there wouldn't be any true M cars with four-cylinder engines. So this bad boy faces an uphill battle against the new A45 as well as the RS3.