It’s hard to believe nearly 14 years have passed since BMW unveiled the 1 Series M Coupe. You could say it paved the way for turbocharged M cars, which have become the norm in the years since. The small, relatively lightweight E87 flagship was recently celebrated during the annual 1M meet. This year’s gathering actually broke the record, with 92 cars coming together.
A new walkaround video shows the biggest 1M meet to date, where most cars were finished in Valencia Orange. BMW also sold the car in Sapphire Black and Alpine White, both of which make an appearance in the footage. There were some vehicles with a non-standard finish but likely modified by their owners with a custom paint or wrap. From the factory, the rarest 1Ms were painted in Java Green, Monte Carlo Blue, and Atacama Yellow.
The 1M meet took place in Germany at the Nürburgring and we’re hoping next year’s edition will achieve the 100-car milestone. As a refresher, BMW built 6,309 units, despite initially saying it would make 2,700 cars. The huge difference stems from the fact demand was through the roof, more than BMW had anticipated.
All cars came with a six-speed manual gearbox, which was a newly developed unit at that point. Its role was to route 335 hp and 369 lb-ft (500 Nm) to the rear wheels in a car that weighed 1,495 kilograms (3,296 pounds) in European specification. For the sake of comparison, today’s M2 is about 230 kg (507 lbs) heavier.
Some fun facts about the 1M. It was the shortest and flattest M car at the time. It was also 5.5 millimeters (2.1 inches) wider than the 135i. BMW gave it 19-inch wheels as standard but some of the cars that appear in the video have different alloys. The G87 is a much larger car but at least it’s keeping the winning formula alive for a few more years. As we talked about recently, the days of manual M cars are numbered. Heck, even the RWD M2 could die.
Source: Misha Charoudin / YouTube
