BMW 1 Series M Coupé's Second Unveiling

Welcome to the first BMW M dealership on Earth. 

On Friday 21st January, I was in for a treat as I was part of the few invitees to the World’s second unveiling of the most recent M monster: the 1 Series M Coupé.

About one week after its first unveiling at the Detroit Auto Show, the little coupé transited by Singapore before heading back to Germany. I have to admit, I’ve never been a big fan of the 1 Series, with its stubby nose and the curved lines where the doors meet the side skirts giving it a goofy “boat-like” look. When I was told “1 Series M Coupé”, I expected an okay car with a performance package. 

Boy was I wrong!

As the car was unveiled, I couldn’t find any of the design cues that I didn’t like on the normal model.

And I’m not saying this because I want to be good friends with BMW. The car was even featured in Orange Metallic, and I can’t stand orange, but this model is just magnificent. With a strong, muscular look, wide fenders, quad tip exhaust, wide air intakes, the 1 Series Coupé has been turned into a real looker. But the “M” stuck at the back isn’t all just about looks, and as with any other M models, this one has a pedigree that will make rival sports car tremble in fear: built on a high-strength steel unibody, the 1 Series M Coupé rests on aluminium suspensions originally conceived for the current M3 that have been specifically tuned for this model. At its heart, the all aluminium, twin turbocharged, 3.0 Litre inline-6 engine breathes fire, developing a whopping 335Hp at 5,900 rpm and 450Nm of torque, available slightly above idle, at 1,500 RPM. To complement this is a close ratio, 6 speed manual transmission which helps propel the Coupé from 0 to 100km/h in 4.7 seconds and up to a top speed of 250 Kph (electronically limited).

The 1 Series M Coupé has already visited the Nurburgring to determine its official ‘Ring time (the reference for BMW cars) and clocked an impressive 8:12, which is about 10 seconds faster than the E46 M3, and even posted faster times than the E60 M5, Mercedes Benz C63 AMG and the Porsche Cayman S (these last two being its direct competitors).

The interior of the 1 Series M Coupé is very sports oriented, dressed in black Alcantara with orange stitching. The short-throw 6-speed shifter rests naturally in the driver’s hand and the M gauge cluster with grey dials, M red pointers and white backlight is very pleasing to the eyes. Situated just above the stick shift, the magic M drive button entices the driver to activate the razor-sharp throttle response program to experience what the car has truly been built for: racing.

Only 20 units of the 1 Series M Coupé will make their way to Singapore, and will offer no other alternative than the 6-speed manual transmission. The message is clear: this monster is made for the ones who really know how to drive.

Enjoy the gallery, this car is really worth the look!

Special thanks to Mercy G., Angelika F. and all the team at BMW for this exclusive experience, and to Kugan V. for his support to the medias.