Article Summary
- The 1M Coupe -- BMW's first turbocharged M car -- now sells for up to 70,000 pounds, well above its 44,000 pound original price.
- The M2 CS has 530hp and is over a second quicker to 62mph, but its carbon sports seat bruises legs on a manual and the flat-bottom wheel baffles both drivers.
- On a wet track with traction off, the M2 CS demands more commitment -- push through understeer before the rear comes alive.
Vicki Butler-Henderson and Tiff Needell took the E82 BMW 1M Coupe and the G87 BMW M2 CS to Anglesey in the wet, which meant the 530-horsepower M2 spent most of the session trying to scare them, and the 1M spent most of it reminding everyone why it still commands cult status fifteen years on. Neither car gave a clean answer. That is probably the point.
The 1M – A Unicorn In The World of BMW
BMW made 6,309 of them in 2011. The formula was straightforward: E82 1 Series shell, brakes and suspension from the contemporary E90 M3, a 335i-derived turbocharged straight-six tuned to 340 horsepower. It was also the first M-badged car to be turbocharged, which still surprises people. No automatic option, no standard sat-nav, no DAB radio unless you paid extra. A six-speed manual and not much else.
Needell, who owns one, recalls the first time he drove a 1M at an Evo Car of the Year test. Two corners in, both faces lit up. He voted it car of the year. A Pagani Huayra beat it. He has not fully forgiven that outcome. Original price was 44,000 pounds. Today a good one costs 60,000 to 70,000. The market has made its feelings clear.
530 Horsepower In The Wet
The M2 CS is 200 horsepower more than the 1M and over a second quicker to 62 mph. It sits 8mm lower than the standard G87 M2 and is roughly 30 kilograms lighter, thanks to carbon on the bonnet, roof, and boot. On a dry circuit, the performance gap would feel enormous. On a soaking Anglesey with traction switched off via the M button, it felt like considerably more.
The M2 CS demands you push through understeer before the rear comes alive. You have to commit to the front before you can use the power. It is the correct way to tune a road car and it is also, on a greasy track with no safety net, quite a lot to manage. The 1M is more forgiving but snaps out more easily in the wet — less to lean on, quicker to punish inattention. Both cars have their ways of keeping you honest.
Where the 1M sounds muted by modern standards, the M2 CS does not.
What Bothers Them
The carbon fiber sports seat has a central bolster between the legs. In an automatic this is irrelevant. In a manual, your left leg crosses it every time you use the clutch. Needell drove the standard M2 at Pembrey for a full day and left with bruised legs. The CS uses the same seat.
The steering wheel is flat-bottomed, which both found inexplicable. The 1M’s seats are narrower and less aggressive, and neither driver missed the carbon buckets when they were back in it.
The Verdict That Is Not Quite One
Neither picked a winner. The 1M is the more relaxed of the two — simpler, lighter in feel, easier to read at the limit. The M2 CS is faster, louder, more aggressive, and harder work. Needell has a soft spot for the older car that is not shifting. Butler-Henderson loves the M2 CS’s brutishness but also loves what the 1M represents.
The M2 CS is available with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires for road and occasional track use, or the Pilot Sport Cup 2 for more dedicated track driving. On a wet Anglesey, the distinction was less important.
BMW was not going to keep making cars like the 1M. The G87 M2 CS is the best answer it has today to the question of what a compact M car should be. It is a good answer. It is just a different one.
