Our friends and sponsors over at IND gives us an exclusive look at their latest project: BMW 1M.
“Imagine having the opportunity to own every single M car ever made, from the moment that BMW chose to grace the world with their miracle sports sedans. Imagine the thrill of experiencing each of BMW M’s creations, the moment each one was released to the eager public. What true car enthusiast would not jump at such an opportunity? One of IND’s most valued local clients is precisely such an enthusiast, and jumped at precisely such an opportunity.
Our client is a BMW M fanatic, and has been blessed with the chance to experience BMW’s M tradition first hand, car by car. When the 1M was announced, our client knew that it may be the best M in years, and that he absolutely had to experience the newest addition to the M family.
As many of you know, acquiring a 1M is no small feat, and despite our client’s love for the M brand, he was not able to have an allocation from his home dealer. Undeterred, our client continued his pursuit by contacting BMW NA directly and found his solution. After seeing a faxed list of M and BMW cars our client had previously owned and seeing our client’s passion for M cars, a rep at BMW NA realized that he would have to build him a 1M at any cost.
Together with BMW’s North American office, IND, and our client’s favorite dealership- Patrick BMW, our client embarked on a journey to create his perfect vision of a 1M. Patrick BMW has supported IND since the company’s youngest days, and was a perfect ally for building this car. Patrick helped coordinate the car’s “pre-delivery” delivery to IND’s facility with perfect smoothness, and their access to the BMW parts bin was invaluable in obtaining items like the performance steering wheel and spoiler on short notice.
Two months after our client’s conversation with BMW NA, IND’s staff was looking at a perfect, brand new Valencia Orange 1M, still fresh from transport, every possible surface still covered in protective plastic lining.
The 1M was sent directly to IND’s facility, before being delivered to our client, so we had to work fast. Knowing that one of the most sought-after M cars ever made is in town and waiting for pickup but having to wait for modifications to get installed is sure to provoke impatience in any man, and we did our best to make the wait for delivery a short one.
Our mission was therefore clear- build the best performing, most eye-catching 1M possible, and do the job in exactly 48 hours.
We began tearing into the brand new 1M as soon as it arrived at our facility. Many of the parts to be installed on the car were either prototype parts, or specifically selected because the manufacturer was early to market, and we knew some adjustments would be necessary.
The original hood was removed in favor of Seibon’s power dome equipped carbon fiber piece. Although the paint scheme is not of IND’s own design, our client is very creative and insisted on incorporating his ideas into the project. The Seibon hood and paint scheme are a direct result of our client’s own creative direction. IND added gloss black front and side grilles to eliminate the car’s only chrome trim. RevoZport provided their two-piece adjustable front lip and two-piece rear diffuser, giving the car an aggressive appearance.
Our client has been a loyal fan of Rogue Engineering short shifters, installing one in every M Rogue had a shifter for, so we knew we had to provide a short shifter for this car as well. We contacted Ben at Rogue Engineering and learned that he was developing a shifter but would not have a ready to sell solution ready for another two months. Despite this, Ben was able to build a one-off pre-production short shifter for our 1M project just days after we requested the piece.
We chose KW ‘s height adjustable sleeve kit to give this 1M flexibility in its height setting for year-round use. The sleeve kit includes springs that are well matched to the 1M’s original dampers but still allow for a controlled ride and reduced body roll along with sharper turn-in.
A car like this 1M must have a sound menacing enough to match its appearance. IND turned to Eisenmann for a tone that would be recognized even among a field of modified 1Ms. We coupled Eisenmann’s downpipe-back exhaust system with Akrapovic downpipes for a dramatic power increase over the 1M’s already formidable M-tuned engine. ESS Tuning provided software to optimize the power further, making this 1M an outright rocket.
No matter how many major modifications are installed on an IND Portfolio project, it is always the smaller details that truly finish the car. IND provided some of these one-off pieces by adding color-coded Valencia Orange steering wheel trim, a special Valencia Orange striped BMW Performance steering wheel, a BMW Performance rear spoiler with an M3 CRT style paint scheme, and an M badge finished in gloss black with hand-painted Valencia borders. We finished the car by applying a custom paint scheme to the car’s already beautiful engine cover.
All of IND’s staff is patiently waiting for the moment when our client finally takes delivery of his brand new 1M, this Saturday. Although our client never enjoyed the car in its stock form, we are confident that he will love our interpretation of BMW’s newest work of automotive art.”
