Purists may not have approved when BMW turned to six-cylinder power for the second-generation (E36) M3, but the fact that in-line six came to be the engine that defined the smaller M cars as giant-killers can’t be denied. The upcoming 1 Series M Coupe will return to the Munich manufacturer’s roots with a turbocharged 3,0-litre six borrowed from the Z4 sDrive35iS.
With the current M3 (E90,E92) powered by the firm’s award-winning 4,0-litre V8, it’s going to take something special to re-kindle the spirit of the original (E30) M3. The twin-turbocharged 3,0-litre six-cylinder powerplant probably seemed a logical choice in a car weighing in at approximately 1 500 kg.
Final outputs haven’t been decided on yet, but it is widely believed that the 1 Series M Coupé will boast in the region of 254 kW, which makes a maximum torque figure of 450 N.m seem very likely. Despite a suspension set-up, braking system and rear differential unit very close to that of the M3, which is also available with BMW’s dual-clutch M-DCT transmission, the 1 Series M Coupé will be available exclusively with a six-speed manual gearbox. It doesn’t hurt that engineers are chasing for a Nordschleife lap time ten seconds faster than the previous (E46) generation M3.
“The 1-Series M Coupe is completely in the tradition of the first BMW M3. It is compact, focused on the essential, and presents outstanding driving dynamics. In addition, it opens the door to BMW M – in particular its price will also make it more accessible than our other products,” says Albert Biermann, Head of Development at BMW M GmbH.
BMW will take the wraps of the 1 Series M Coupé in December, before it makes its first public appearance at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January 2011. Pricing is expected to be somewhere between the 135i Coupé and M3, with the first production units reaching customers abroad in the second quarter of 2011.
Watch a 1 Series M Coupe teaser vid
