Detroit debut for BMW 1-Series M

The American public will see BMW's hottest '1' coupe, but our man Michael Taylor has already driven it
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We can finally reveal that this is the 1-Series M Coupe that BMW will unveil during January’s Detroit Motor show.

The twin-turbo, rear-drive coupe, built to slot in underneath the V8 M3, will not just be the fastest, fattest, cheekiest M car in BMW's line-up, but it will also give us a first look at the brand's facelifted 1-Series as well, now that BMW has pulled the covers off the production version. We had previously driven the 1 Series M in pre-production form.

With a 250kW, 3.0-litre, straight-six engine up front, the car will sprint to 100km/h in 4.9 seconds and can burst from zero to 200km/h in just over 17 seconds, with its top speed limited by BMW to 250km/h.

And, while you might be able to get all this performance in a small package, you'll only be able to get it in black, white or this orange (pictured), because M will only provide three standard colours.

While the M3's engine is a naturally-aspirated V8, the 1-Series M Coupe uses an M-developed version of BMW's glorious force-fed six which produces a prodigious 450Nm of torque from just 1500rpm. For short bursts, it can even over-boost the turbos to deliver 500Nm.

The driver's enjoyment of all this may be limited to short bursts, though, because of the combination of a measly 53 litre fuel tank and a combined fuel-economy figure of 9.6 litres/100km (with a CO2 figure of 224g/km).

Revving to 5980rpm, the engine uses two smallish turbo-chargers to spin up quickly for better throttle response instead of a single, more-powerful large turbo.

But there are, as is M's norm, two different engine maps: one for aggressive driving and one for more relaxed forays and, based on our prototype test from a couple of months ago, its superb ride quality will help with the Jekyll and Hyde character changes as well.

Certainly, there's enough weight in the body to help keep the ride under control. At 1495kg with no liquids or people in it, the 1-Series M's mass has been a talking point even inside M as it tries to draw the obvious links to the original BMW M3, which is roughly the same size as its new car, though more than 400kg lighter.

Still, the stupendous urge of the direct-injection engine means it still has a power-to-weight ratio of 6kg per kilowatt (4.4kg per horsepower, for the old-schoolies).

Based around the 1-Series coupe, the 1-Series M Coupe scores typical M haus engineering details, such as forged aluminium suspension parts, monster brakes and the tricky, electronically-governed differential from the M3.

What it won't get is a paddle-shift gearbox, because BMW firmly insists the 1-Series M Coupe will only ever be sold with a six-speed, manual gearbox.

Besides, at €50,500 in its domestic German market, BMW insists the car is targeting a younger buyer group than the M3 or the M5 and its boffins believe younger buyers prefer manual 'boxes. Certainly (and somewhat paradoxically), the Americans do, with most of M's US buyers demanding "stick" shifters.

There's a fat footprint, too, and the car rides on custom-built, cast-alloy wheels with 245/35 R19 tyres up front and265/35 R19 rubber at the rear. The brake discs are also huge, with 360mm discs doing the job at the pointy end and 350mm discs at the rear, though both ends are clamped by M's traditional (but technically underwhelming) single-piston, floating brake calipers.

The new look is meant to be aggressive both inside and out, even if BMW hasn't skimped on the interior luxuries.

There are a range of new aero tweaks, including systems to close cooling vents to heat up the engine faster (to reduce emissions) and another system to reduce turbulence around the front wheels that saves 0.3 litres/100km by itself.

This explains the massive vertical chunks cut into the nose of the 1-Series M coupe, because they divert the onrushing air, channel it into a narrow duct and divert it around the front wheels, creating what BMW describes as a "curtain" of air that lowers aero drag around the wheels.

The two-door four seater is 4380mm long and 1420mm high, but it's also 55mm wider than the standard BMW 1-Series coupe and all of that extra width is reflected in the wider track and wheel arches.

M has gone to great lengths to accentuate the car's width, because the standard coupe looks a little too vertical for M tastes. That's why it scores the deeply sculpted air exit ducts in the rear bumper and four monster exhaust pipes at the outer edges, and it's also why it has such an accentuated, wide-mouthed air intake below the grille.

Inside, it's typically M, with high, strong seat bolstering, plenty of leather and Alcantara trimming and two huge dials for the speedo and the tachometer front and centre.

There's a tremendously fat steering wheel, too, and it has been given an M button so the driver can switch the car to the most-aggressive setup map (which will tighten throttle and steering response and move to a more-liberal ESP setting) without his/her hands leaving the wheel.

It scores BMW's new iDrive system, which thankfully (and belatedly) includes a button to easily go back one step if you get something wrong in the navigation or setup. There's also a 370-litre luggage capacity, which is not bad for a rear-wheel-drive car this size.

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