The Great American Roadtrip in the 1m Coupe, by 1ADDICTS member sergeremi.

So a few months ago I had solicited some ideas on a road trip during a free week I had in October. The thread can be found here. Originally I had planned to drive up the East Coast to the Vermont/New Hampshire area to do some leaf peeping and driving around the country back roads. But then there was a mention of US 129 and the Blue Ridge Parkway. The rest as they say was history.

After 69 driving hours, 3362 miles, 8 states and 2 countries, below are the results.

The very limited production M3 GTS may be difficult to attain, so Japanese tuner Studie has taken a slightly more attainable (though still exclusive) model, the BMW 1M coupe, and given it a M3 GTS look, complete with fire orange exterior paint, black wheels and the high rear racing wing from the M3 GTS. Modifications on the Studie 1M include:

- Fire orange (u94/2) paint
- BBS ri-d painted gloss black
- Matte black gts wing
- Matte black diff
- Akrapovic exhaust w/ cf tips
- Custom vented hood
- AP racing bbk

BIMMERPOST member Advevo, Andre de Vries, a race car driver and BMW enthusiast shows off his driving skills and the 1M coupe’s control in some great drifting action at the Papenburg Test Track, a track usually reserved strictly for testing cars in development.

South African Car Magazine Shootout episode pitted the BMW 1M versus the Audi RS3. Quattro grip versus M Power verve. See the results inside.

Bavaria Performance based in Munich, Germany has put together an impressive 135i to 1M conversion by way of the Prior Design 135i widebody kit and a full compliment of BMW Performance parts goodies and LCI facelift retrofit items.

The most interesting modification to us however, is the tachometer from the E90/E92 M3! Full list of modifications:

Prior 1er M Coupe front bumper
Prior 1er M Coupe rear bumper
Prior 1er M Coupe front fenders
Prior 1er M Coupe side skirts
Prior 1er M Coupe rear fender flares
BMW 1er M Coupe mirrors
BMW 1er M Coupe M359 matt black (what??)
BMW 1er M Coupe turn signals including black housing
BMW 1er M Coupe Emblem
BMW PERFORMANCE kidney grils
BMW PERFORMANCE performance kit
BMW PERFORMANCE Heckspoiler Carbon
BMW PERFORMANCE brakes
BMW PERFORMANCE seats
BMW PERFORMANCE e-brake lever/boot
BMW PERFORMANCE short shift kit
BMW PERFORMANCE … CONTINUED

Steve Sutcliffe of Autocar gives us his thoughts on his BMW 1M coupe long term tester. It seems that the 1M coupe has grown on Sutcliffe over time as his review is glowing. Video inside.

German tuner Tuningwerk transforms the already potent 1M Coupe into a 514hp monster, which they’ve dubbed the Tuningwerk 1M RS.

What they’ve done with the factory 335hp / 332lb-ft N54 engine is given it a ECU tune, modified its turbos, customized cooling system with additional secondary cooler, and replaced factory exhaust with custom titanium exhaust system. This all works to produce 514hp (521PS) and 453 lb-ft torque (614Nm) (from 2800 RPM). Top speed is 186mph.

Its transmission now has a 3.25 ratio (with 3.45 ratio available) and the 1M RS also features a locking differential with a Drexler lock, as well as a new clutch (with a racing clutch offered as an option).

The 1M RS sits on lower and stiffer club sport suspension with optional H&R lightweight stabilizer … CONTINUED

Powerbeast’s 1M coupe is no stranger to attention, having been featured as one of our BMWs of the month recently. But, it’s about to get as much attention as an 1M coupe can, having donned a Dakar Yellow coat as its newest wardrobe choice.

Dakar Yellow was last offered by BMW as a standard color for the Z3 M roadster/coupe but we still see it from time to time on late model BMWs from enthusiasts looking to give their cars a unique color, either by ordering it via BMW Individual or painting/wrapping in the aftermarket. HERE are some examples - mostly M3s.

Now for the details. Here’s the official specs/modifications list for Powerbeast’s 1M:

2011 BMW 1M

Dakar Yellow
BMW Performance Seat… CONTINUED