BMW‘s smallest M-car is now the M2 Coupe, but its predecessor will forever be a favorite among petrolheads.
Initially scheduled to be produced in 2,700 units, the overwhelming demand made the Bavarians assemble just a little over 6,300 examples.
Setting it in motion was a 3.0-liter twin-turbo straight-six sourced from the Z4 and rated at 335 HP and 332 pound-feet (450 Nm) of torque. With the overboost function, another 37 lb-ft (50 Nm) became available on tap, helping it sprint from rest to sixty (96 km/h) in 4.7 seconds and up to an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph (250 km/h).
When it was put through its paces on the Nurburgring, it turned out to be faster than the E46 M3, Mercedes-AMG C63, Corvette C6 and Aston Martin V8 Vantage, topping out the Z4 M Coupe’s time of 8 minutes and 12 seconds.
Today, four years after the last example left the assembly line, the 1M Coupe remains one of the most sought after high-performance machines made by BMW, and due to its limited production numbers, it’s not uncommon for used examples to change hands for the same price as a brand new M2 Coupe or even more.
Proving that the two-door compact car still has what it needs is a new video, signed by StanceTech, which shows a red-finished example shred its tires by drifting in a roundabout and doing a couple of smoky burnouts.