BMW announced a series of updates for its models today, all of which will go in effect starting this November. Among them was the announcement that the M Sport package for the 1 Series range – both the 3-door and 5-door models – will be replaced by the Edition M Sport Shadow package. This latter package was introduced on specific markets earlier this year and turned out to be a success, prompting BMW to offer it in more regions of the world, as a farewell to the 1 Series.
Continue Reading Below
The new Edition M Sport Shadow will be available from November 2018 and adds a host of new and distinctive features to the outgoing model’s specific design and equipment items for the interior and exterior. These include LED headlights with black inserts, LED front fog lamps, dark rear lights, a BMW kidney grille frame in High-gloss Black and exhaust tailpipes in Black Chrome. The Edition M Sport Shadow variant for the BMW 1 Series also includes Jet Black 18-inch M light-alloy wheels in twin-spoke design. Inside the car, you get BMW Individual headliner in Anthracite and exclusive sports seats in textile Corner Anthracite with grey accents.
Pricing for the package will vary, depending on the market, and hasn’t been announced just yet. However, since the 1 Series is on its way out of production, it’s safe to assume the Edition M Sport Shadow package won’t be too expensive compared to the M Sport variant. Unfortunately, this marks one of the last hoorays for the model before it becomes front-wheel drive. The new 1 Series will be built atop the UKL platform.
Inside the cabin you’ll have more room as the FWD layout allows designers and engineers to use the space more efficiently. It’s the same story in the back and the boot. Since there’s no more need for a transmission tunnel, the rear occupants will be more comfortable. At the same time, the boot will now no longer be limited in size due to the rear differential. The trade off? No more rear-wheel drive of course, and no more drifting like we used to.
I’ve chosen to opt my 120i Sportshatch with the M Sport Shadow pack as it’s been available for about 6 months now in Belgium. It was only €595 more compared to the standard M Sport Shadow pack, but it boasts a lot of extras as said in the article above. Also, it upgrades directly to the 18″ wheels instead of the 17″ wheels. Which makes it extremely good in price compared to the standard M Sport Package and is basically a no-brainer.
Correction, €595 more compared to the standerd M Sport Pack*
I would like BMW to stop putting M badges on non M cars. They should just call their sportier series models (IS)