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2011 BMW 1 Series M Officially Unveiled

Lyndon Conrad Bell

Contributing Writer

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3,045 views Dec 9, 2010

BMW 1-Series M Coupe teaser images

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2011 BMW 1-Series M Coupe First Drive

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Well sports car fans, you’ve asked for it, you’ve dreamed about it, and now the day has come. BMW has officially released undisguised pictures of the M-ified 1 Series Coupe. No, the car won’t be called the M1, as that nom de plume belongs to the first ever road car from BMW’s M division; the legendary exotic BMW built from 1978 to 1981 in collaboration with Lamborghini (ironically now a division of one of BMW’s chief competitors, the Volkswagen Group).

No, the car will be called the 1 Series M Coupe and presumably the 1 Series M Cabriolet should a convertible version ever be offered (don’t worry, you can pretty much count on that too). Revealed in what is perhaps the heartiest embrace of social media to date by an automotive manufacturer, BMW has unveiled the car on YouTube in a series factory produced videos—teasing a dedicated Website, www.m-power.com.

According to Albert Biermann, head of Development at BMW M GmbH; “The BMW 1 Series M Coupe is driven by a twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline six cylinder delivering approximately 340 hp. This power is transferred exclusively via a six speed manual gearbox. A closer look at the prototypes will reveal many similarities to the chassis, brakes, and rear differential of the BMW M3.”

Closer in performance to the E46 based M3 (built from 2001 to 2006) than the current one, it is said the 1 Series M car will be priced less than that previous model (MSRP was $41,400 in 2001), but will be about 10 seconds faster than the E46 M was around the Nordschliefe circuit of the Nurburgring. The official unveiling of the 1 Series M Coupe will take place at the Detroit Auto Show in January. The car is expected to go on sale in the spring of 2011.