Drove my lil bro from another mother's 1M
 

I didn't even know he was looking, he mentioned it before, but tonight he shows up at a dinner part and hands me a BMW key. I instantly knew, fully loaded 1m, 151 miles on the odometer, burnt orange. I didn't give it the business, never reving past 5K. However here are a few driving impressions.

The steering is super light, compared to my Z I feel as if I could turn the wheel with one finger. Not saying light steering is good or bad, but definitely different. Also the steering wheel is very thick, I love it, something I'm going to have to search the aftermarket for to add to the Z.

The gearbox is smooth. The gates are close enough and engagement is smooth. The clutch is on the light side. One huge gripe I have with Nissan and Infiniti, the m6 gearbox is chunky and notchy under normal driving.

Power is linear, BMW has perfectly hidden the fact that this car is turboed. The revs come fast and it has an N/A feel to it.

Looks sexy as hell, the orange is the only color I'd want it in. However, and this may come off sounding biased. It is not as fast as my Z as my Z currently stands. I would guess that its faster than a stock Z. If I can punch out this 20 page paper early enough we're going to meet tomorrow for a photoshoot and maybe a fun run.

Overall a great car, much better than the 335i, granted it has the 335is motor, the suspension is stiff ride is a bit hard, there is no hiding this is a go car not a show car. I love the flared fenders and 19" wheels. However, I will say that for $55k I'm thrilled he bought it and not me. I'll definitely find a way to get behind the wheel of this thing more especially after its broken in.

In for :pics:

:tup: Kewl write up.

it's probably a very nice car. but for 55k i got a list of cars ahead of the 1M.

that orange color is really cool.

That's awesome. I was just saying the other day one of the few cars I would consider trading the Z for would be a 1M. Of course I would much more likely just use that extra $ to go FI with the Z.

Nice. I need to get out and drive one.

True... corvette gs, camaro zl1, mustang 302 BOSS, audi TT-RS and porsche cayman come to mind in that price range. The bimmer is still nice though. I was able to sit in a 1m in last years auto show. BMW had one for inspection, right before its release. Really kool considering it wasn't out yet. Most comapanies keep there car locked.

What I didn't like.
SAME OLE BMW GAUGES AND LAYOUT.
Seating position much less aggressive than Z.
Suspension didn't have the car low enough.
It still felt sedanie for my taste.

Few cars fit the bill for well laid out sports cockpits. If corvette didn't use shoddy materials? There cockpit would be perfect layout wise. I like the camaro layout as well. Porsche audi and the typicals do well. BMW has the most tired looking interior on the market. I will give them respect for interior quality. Its hard to beat. Just boring to look at. Its like being in grandmas house with antique furniture. Its all expensive but puts you to sleep.

I think the 1M is quite sexy looking, especially in that burnt orange color. I'm def in for pics of the photo shoot!

I think it's so humorous that if you transpose the 1M with an M1 you get a WHOLLY different search result! :). I was all like "oops, THAT'S not what I was looking for!". LOL

"Sexy" is definitely not a word I'd use to describe the 1...

Maybe "abhorrently ugly," but not sexy...

I prefer "squished."

But I still want to see how they drive.

No doubt it's a great car. I just can't get over the looks. Reminds me of that Mercedes C Coupe commercial where they use chains bolted to a mountain to rip off the rear doors... except this time something went horribly wrong.

Well I guess it doesn't appeal to everyone. If I were to make a choice..I would def take the M3.

Same. I'd much rather have a slightly used E92 M3 with no options than a fully loaded new 1M. It'd probably be easier to find, too.

Definitely want to see some pics.
I overall like the car, but the price tag puts it in that spot where you start to second guess the purchase.

Especially since they're selling well over msrp for the most part.

You can't compare it to the Vettes or Camaros, those are mass produced cheaply put together, nothing but a big engine American products. I still want a Z06 though.

After driving the e92 M and the 1M the 1M is a purist car, the e92 M3 is a padded GT car made to appeal to a much larger demographic that the e46 M3 and previous M's did not appeal to.

The 1M feels like our Z, meaning that it is a drivers car, but I agree I'm tired of the old BMW dash setup. Still I would love to steal that gearbox. Btw, I didn't like the way it looks either and then I saw it, it looks really nice.

That is the other thing, BMW is limiting production which created an artificial price increase way beyond what it should have been.

He found it in Jersey and got it for sticker provided he got it that afternoon. It's possible...

All the ones in Houston were pro-orders. :(
Only bet would be another town or a canceled order.

Here's how crazy it got, after he found it and put a deposit on it as he's driving over there, he was offered $2500 by someone on another forum to let them go get the car he found and put money on.

Why would anyone pay over MSRP for a 1M? They aren't bespoke cars like other M cars. They are basically your bread and butter 135i with a body kit, engine tune, and suspension mods. You can change a 135i into a 1M with basic aftermarket bolt on kits. I dont know if they're good or bad cars, but they definitely aren't the collectible classics they're being made out to be. Marked up over MSRP? Give me a break.

Which dealer? Jersey had no allocations.

Yup....wouldn't pay over MSRP.

I'm pretty sure its not that simple, you would have to get M3 parts and alter them to fit the 135 to get the 1M. Also the heavy use of aluminum leads to a lighter weight, they weigh as much as us.

I really didn't care for the car but when you look at one and drive one you feel that it is something special. Its a real M car whereas the M3 and M5 are sell outs.

Oh and don't forget, even if you managed to take a 135i and make the necessary changes, you've probably paid a bunch of cash out of pocket and lost your warranty. Personally I'd like to keep the warranty, you know how BMW gets.

the funny thing is i've seen way more 1m's than i have seen 370z's in the past few months.

I'd rather get a 1m over an m3 anyday. From the top of my head I know it has a perfect gear box and much wider wheel setup. Highly doubt bolt on kits would make a 135i the SAME as a 1m. True, bolt on kits could make a135 faster than a 1m around any track, but you won't be getting that M feeling those Germans designed for it.
Personally I'd save up for a boxter spyder for sure!!

1M, m3 >boxter

Heading out to meet up, I'll try to come back with pics.

I saw the 1M on top gear (original BBC). the thing was a monster. If you haven't seen it on there yet check it out. Not gonna lie after watching it I was second guessing my Z purchase.

The 135 has the same motor as the 335, the 1M shares the motor with the Z4 and has 40hp more then the 335/135. A friend of mine was going to trade in his M coupe, (M series Z4 hard top) for one, but gained a couple pounds and only 7 more HP.

Umm.. 1m is not same weight as my Z; I am low 3200's; the 1M is 3350'ish.. And, I am just as quick, if not quicker than one without spending as much money while sounding much better!

The 1M is hawt though, and I strongly considered waiting for one, but opted for the Z instead. The Z is sexy looking while the 1M is ALL masculine looking; not sexy by any means. But that is not a bad thing for that car. If I were getting a Bimmer, it would be E92 M3; give me the high strung NA V8 over the turbo inline 6 please.

What a day, since none of us headed out to the 2 big meets in the area we decided to all meet up and have our own session. Drove an SMG e92 M3, the 1M again, a 335i sedan and a Lotus Elise supercharged.

I know I say this a lot, but I really really REALLY dislike the e92 M3. It is by far the largest of the list of cars and feels like it. The SMG is flawless but there is no driver input, if you take away the convenience argument and laziness factor all you have is that its faster. I know the SMG is faster even in the Z but its so boring and the inability to go from 6th to 3rd at the drop of a hat really blows. Cars should be limited by my abilities not the other way around. With that said the 1M is wonderful, it looks great and sounds pretty good too. I can't justify the price tag but for the exclusivity I guess its worth it. If it didn't cost so much I'd be in one but for a car that is literally double what I paid for my Z I will stay with my Z. Very torquey though. The 335i sedan is an A to B, BMW and not a car I would bother modding.

This brings me to the Lotus. Hands down the funnest car of the bunch. It is not realistic it is not comfortable, it is noisier than our Z but it is an absolute BLAST to drive. There is no excess with that car and I would only get one if I had $ laying around but when it comes to automotive toys, that's a great one to have. Pics will be up when my boy gets around to it. I have a few on my blackberry lemme see what I can do.

PLZ post pics. The 1M is supposed to really have like 360/370 pound feet of torque; that is crazy!

The Lotus line is hard core. I also considered an Exige before getting the Z. It came down to the Z or Exige, but I could not sell my wife on that one. PICS!!

FI is what attracts me to the 1m. The cost of modding a bimmer turns me away.

Yeaahh... not sold on this :roflpuke2:

http://www.cardotcom.com/photos/cars...w-1m-usa-h.jpg

I'll take a Boss please.

http://mustangsdaily.com/blog/wp-con...aguna-seca.jpg

I'll TAKE THIS INSTEAD!

GTM 370Z TWIN TURBO START UP - YouTube

Laguna seca BOSS is so sick. What about tt rs?
http://www.fourtitude.com/news/uploa...s/ttrs_800.jpg

The FI bimmers are cheap to mod.


The things that confuse people are the general lack of cheap (cost and quality) parts on some of those platforms, and the fact that most of that crowd doesn't run knockoff parts