The BMW M140i is an oddball of the automotive world. There are seemingly dozens of hot hatches from several different brands on the current market. There’s the brilliant Volkswagen Golf R, the delicious Audi RS3 and the hooligan Ford Focus RS, just to name a few. But of all these hot hatches, the BMW M140i stands among them unique. That’s because it’s the lone hot hatch with rear-wheel drive, while the rest are either front or all-wheel drive. That means skids. Lots of them.
In this video from Cars.co.za, they test the BMW M140i and claim it to be a “Super Hatch” according to the definition in the Cars.co.za “official” handbook. The reason for its Super Hatch-ness is the fact that it has more than 200 kW (268 hp), which it does (250 kW/335 hp) and can get from 0-60 in under 5.5 seconds. While they can only actually record a 0-60 mph time of 5.6 seconds, they weren’t at sea level, so it would be under that in better circumstances.
The next requirement of being a Super Hatch is that the car has to inspire confidence through corners. The M140i does that. It’s a very accurate car with a sharp front end and balanced chassis dynamics. However, none of that matters once the tail starts to slide out, as that’s all you’ll want to do afterward.
With a short wheelbase and big power, the BMW M140i is the world’s most sideways hatch, making it quite possibly the world’s most exciting hatch as well. In fact, it seems like skidding about is all the M140i wants to do. But that’s fine because it’s all that should be done. Rear-wheel drive hatchbacks are genuine rarities in the car world so we must take advantage of them when we can.
The BMW M140i might be a Super Hatch and it might have the power and performance to take on genuine sports cars but none of that matters. All that matters is the tire smoke it leaves at the end of each corner.
