The BMW 1 Series M Coupe will be remembered as an amazing sports car despite being rushed through its development. Its successor however, will be built the way BMW wants a M coupe to be built.
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For years now, G-Power has been churning out high-horsepower BMWs from its tuning factory, and the newest creation is its take on the sporty 1M model.
While the rest of the world has been enjoying BMW’s M Performance models, America will finally be treated to its first of the new performance machines in 2014 with the debut of the M235i coupe.
Those guys over at Autobild sure know how to have some fun. They decided to do grab every current BMW M model and pit them off against one another at Germany’s Sachsenring track in Bernsdorf.
The fastest time of the day from their shootout was BMW’s M3 GTS, equipped with semi-slicks with a time of 1:37.30 – but since we’re comparing apples to apples, the M3 CRT ran a time of 1:38.87 while the new M5 did it in 1:38.90. That’s a mere 0.03-seconds off the M3 CRT but it’s also worth mentioning that the new M5 was driven by Claudia Hürtgen, a German race car driver and one of Germany’s best known female racers, while the rest of the cars were driven by Autobild drivers.
The 1M Coupe ran a respectable 1:40.18, which was faster than the standard M3 Coupe DCT at 1:40.52. From there it was the M3 Sedan, M3 Convertible, X6 M, X5 M, and E60 M5 rounding off the list. To compare the two generations of M5, the E60 ran a 1:43.77, almost five seconds slower than its newer-generation counterpart.
Autobild also took the liberty to take Porsche‘s Panamera Turbo S and Mercedes-Benz‘s E63 AMG out to compare it to the new M5. The Panamera Turbo S ran a 1:38.13, trumping the new M5 by less than a second, while the E63 was quite behind with a 1:40.59.
Check out two Autobild videos of the new M5 after the break.
GALLERY: 2012 BMW M5
[Source: F10 5 Post via Autoblog]
Seeing large American V8 motors transplanted into race cars is nothing new, but a Chevy V8 in a BMW 1M? Now that’s a bit strange, especially considering BMW’s 1M has a pretty potent engine in its twin-turbocharged 3.0L inline-six with 335-hp and 332 lb-ft of torque.
Ok truth be told, this isn’t really a BMW 1M, but rather a tube-frame chassis race car sporting a BMW 1M exterior. Global Concept Automobile wanted to show no bias when building their GC10-V8 race car, giving it a German exterior and an American 6.2L Chevy V8 tuned to 550-hp by Sodemo Development. GC Automobile then transformed the exterior of the race car to a whole new track monster, outfitting it with much wider fenders and matching bumpers after starting with a standard BMW 1M template.
Each super-wide fender is filled with an 18-inch wheel while suspension comes in the form of a 3-way Ohlins system. The team is currently looking for drivers for the upcoming Dunlop 24 Hours of Dubai race, where they finished second in class and 17th overall last year with a less powerful car.
Check out a video of this V8-breathing BMW monster after the break.
GALLERY: Global Concept Automobile BMW 1M
[Source: Jon Sibal]
Improving on the already awesome BMW 1M could be a daunting task, but RevoZport and CP Engineering teamed up to make one complete and awesome package for the sports coupe. With the goal of improving the 1M’s power-to-weight ratio and its aerodynamics, the two companies went to work focusing on function over form.
The result is a styling package that reduces weight by over 130-lbs thanks to carbon fiber pieces. The pieces swapped out include a new hood, front splitter, front splitter brake duct, side skirts, trunk, trunk lip spoiler, GT spoiler with mount, roof spoiler, lightweight roof panel, rear diffuser, front grille, mirrors covers, front and rear interior door cards.
For additional power from the 3.0L turbocharged powerplant, RevoZport offers intake cone filters, a front mount intercooler, blow-off valve charge pipe, downpipes and an ECU retune complete with a plug-and-play harness. All of the excess exhaust gases are expelled from a titanium exhaust made in Japan that weighs in at a scant 15.4-lbs. And if you haven’t guessed it by now, the P450 means that the 1M Raze pushes out 450-hp, an impressive increase over the stock’s 335-hp figure.
And since the 1M simply uses the same N54 found in the newer 135is, RevoZport’s products are also available for the 135i while some of its parts will work across all the 1-Series bodies. Pricing for all their various products can be found on their website.
GALLERY: RevoZport BMW 1M Race P450
In this 45 second commercial, the all-new BMW 1M drifts on a helipad hundreds of feet in the air over a city. Is it real? Of course not but it is very entertaining to watch, and actually looks pretty realistic. BMW has been launching these fun commercials (1M vs the Concrete Walls), to stress the fact that the 1M is a high performance machine that will be used much more than for going to the store for a jug of milk.
BMW admits that its latest high performance two door rocket will have a very limited run of one model year. With limited production in place, the $46,135 price tag may be a bargain should this car appreciate in value in the future. BMW stated that “less than 1,000 units” will be produced in 2011.
Check out the videos after the jump!
German publication Sport Auto has taken BMW‘s 1M Coupe out to Nurburgring and has published the results alongside other track tests. Driver Horst von Saurma took the 1M to a lap time of 8:15 through Nurburgring, while hitting 1:14.1 at Hockenheim. The 8:15 is a respectable time for the 340-hp twin turbo coupe, making it seven seconds faster than the BMW E46 M3 and 10 seconds slower than the current generation M3.
To compare the 1M to its European competitors, Audi’s TT RS ran the Nurburgring in 8:09 while the RS3 Sportback did the Green Hell in 8:20.
At Hockenheim however, the 1M was barely faster than the M3, which ran a 1:14.2 with a DCT gearbox. The 1M’s time at Hockenheim also makes it quicker than Audi’s TT RS (1:15) and RS5 (1:15.3) on the shorter track.
[Source: BMW Blog]