BMW 1-series M Coupe

The 1-series M Coupé costs £8235 more than the 135i Coupé, and at first it seems a little hard to work out why. Both cars use the same six-cylinder, 2979cc engine, and while the M-car offers 335bhp – 32bhp more than the 135i – it still seems a lot to pay for a 0.4sec reduction in BMW’s claimed 0-62mph time. Both reach the same limited 155mph top speed.
But if we used statistics alone to judge merit, we’d now rank Damon Hill a better driver than Sir Stirling Moss. It is not as simple as that. There was no need to go squeezing the extra out of the direct-injection, twin-turbo six because the engine already existed under the bonnet of the Z4 sDrive35iS, a car from which BMW has curiously removed the elite ‘M’ status. This makes the 1-series M Coupé the first M-car ever to use the same engine as a non-M model. Some will see this as sensible pragmatism, others perhaps as the thin end of the wedge.
As described over the page, the suspension is largely that of the M3, while an electronically controlled, mechanically locking limited-slip differential replaces the open differential used by the 135i. Also helping to keep the car under control are brakes borrowed from the M3. Huge, drilled discs sitting inside those fine-looking 19in rims give the 1-series M Coupé a great sense of purpose.