BMW Working on 135is

[OmarKareem]

For a while there have been rumors that BMW will has been working on, and will manufacture an M variant of their 1 Series car. Sadly, this turns out to be only rumors and wishful thinking and the “power” of the internet. On the upside, it looks like BMW IS working on a 1 Series 135is. That could be interesting

The original rumor (just to go over this) was that the possible M-badged version of the BMW 1 Series was to be called the M1. Which sounds like BS to me, right off the bat. As everyone knows (or should know) the M1 was the Giorgetto Giugiaro designed mid engined supercar from the 1970s. Calling the entry level BMW an M1 sounded like a bad idea from the get go

Anyway, since the M worked over version of the 1 Series is NOT happening, what is? The answer seems to be a hot rodded version of the 135is, analogous to the Z4 sDrive35is and 335is that the Bavarian company just recently introduced

The word (and it seems to be a more reality based word than the M1 stuff) sees the hot 135is to use the boosted version of BMW’s N54 twin-turbo six mill found in the Z4 and 3 Series variants. If that turns out to be correct, you can expect total output numbers from the plant to be around the 320 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. There most likely will also be an overboost mode that delivers up to 370 lb-ft of grunt for brief periods of time. Naturally, the chassis will get a working over too, with a more aggressively tuned suspension on offer. This should noticeable improve the coupe’s overall dynamics

Going this route makes more sense in a lot of ways. Sure, a stroked out and worked over 135is might not be as stirring as what a full-on M1 would have be, but the speculated on 135is sure sounds like fun (considering how much it weighs and its size

Of course, the final question might be, why didn’t BMW go for making a full-blown M1 version of their compact ride

It would seem to be that having an M1 would be much like the problems that Porsche faced with making an uber-version of the Cayman. If Porsche were to do that, the Cayman could turn out to be a better performer than the 911. And Porsche wouldn’t want that. Similarly, an M series 1 Series could potentially topple the M3 from its position at the top of the BMW mountain. And BMW certainly wouldn’t want that