BMW 1M. The New E30 M3?

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We had been sat sullenly ever since that phone call to BMW Middle East. The lovely PR lady Leanne had just broken the news: one of the year’s most talked about cars, the one that most petrolheads dream about having a go in, was not going to be made available to the local press. In fact, numbers where so thin on the ground that only 22 of the little suckers were destined for the dusty hole we affectionaly call home and all of them already had a garage in which to snuggle up at night.

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So that was it then. The BMW 1M, the spiritual successor to the greatest M car ever made (the E30 M3) was never going to be sat waiting patiently in the underground car park at the crankandpiston Loft. Balls.

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Then the unimaginable happened; there we were, floating around the internet when we noticed one of our regular readers had posted a picture of a stunning white example, sat by the road side and running Dubai plates. Hello!

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A quick hunt around for said person’s number later and bing, we had ourselves a fresh-out-of-the-box, Alpine white, BMW 1M with less than 1000kms on the clock. Booyah!

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I told myself I would hate the BMW 1 Series M Coupe because no parts bin-built Bimmer could ever be worthy of the M-Sport badge. Right? Well, wrong. Let’s not forget that the Best BMW Ever™, the E30 M3, was a parts-bin special, and it turned out to be epic, in a world changing sense.

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Really, the 1M is much closer to the original M3 than the current, big-engined behemoth that BMW hawks to the world. It’s light. Agile. And with 335bhp from a twin-turbo straight six feeding the rear wheels (nicked from a previous generation M3 CS), it’s not short on power. Purists might grumble about it not being naturally aspirated, but this is the second decade of the 21st century and charging is the way ahead.

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We shot the car at the Dubai Kartdrome, the perfect venue to whap around in this little rocket. Ryan, the owner, put on quite a show for us on the mini-racetrack, kicking the back end out and showing off the 1M’s playful character. The noise is a touch disappointing – like you’d expect from a blown straight-six to sound – but Ryan has plans for a more free-flowing exhaust, along with a few black styling touches.

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We haven’t had a go in it – yet – but don’t worry, we’re nagging and will hopefully have a behind the wheel report for you soon.

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In the meantime, we’ll let Ryan have his fun. Stay tuned, ‘cos we’ve got plans for a video, and several other toys…

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  1. Hey Ryan,

    Just posted you a message on the BMW-forum. I did get one after all, because somebody couldn’t get his financials sorted! The last one coming to Dubai, full specs, in white as well.

    Delivery next week! 😉
    Tom.

  2. Awesome pictures indeed!

    After being denied the 911 GT3 RS 4.0 (notwithstanding paying the first deposit), I wanted this one as a replacement for the GT-R… but it was sold out! However, have heard rumours that BMW might make another batch, though! It would be sad for the current owners, but selfishly I hope BMW does so, preferably in CSL / GTS mode!

  3. Those are BEAUTIFUL photos, better than thousands that I’ve seen in car magazines over the decades. This is why I come back to crank and piston week after week.

  4. Hmmm, was lucky enough to drive a 12,000km Evo 2 back home, absolutely sublime if a little underpowered by todays standards!