The BMW 1M is one of the all-time greats. You don’t have to take our word for it — even though it may be an open secret that the BMWBLOG garage houses one of these pocket rockets, you can find praise for the car across the internet and across the nearly fifteen years the car has been around. But what happens when one of the most iconic modern BMWs meets the powerhouse review team over at Throttle House? Well, it gets a bit squirrely, but we think it’s worth watching to find out.
The BMW 1M: Forefather of Modern M
In case you forgot, the N54-powered BMW 1M was the first M-badged BMW with a turbocharged engine. The car was also a little bit of a happy surprise. So the story goes, a small team secretly worked away on the 1M until it was nearly production ready, when it debuted to management and was greenlit. In-period, the car caught a lot of flack for, well, pretty much everything. Thankfully, the Throttle House review highlights some of the detractors’ many quibbles, like the lack of an oil gauge and shrieks about the N54 engine “not being a real M engine.” Perhaps the funniest in hindsight are complaints surrounding price. Though in fairness, who could’ve guessed that a $50,000 1 Series would someday be worth much more than that if kept in good condition. We’ll answer our own question: anyone who drove it.
While there were heaps of reasons lobbed at the car to keep it down, few reviews had much negative to say from a driving perspective. That trend continues with Throttle House’s review, which is now fourteen years removed from the car’s original debut. The 1M inherited suspension bits from the burly V8-powered E92 M3, and while down on power comparatively, still does an extremely good job of channeling what has always made BMW M cars great. Principal virtues include communicative and precise steering, relative agility, and a pleasant, if not overly exotic, soundtrack.
The 1M Retains the Crown…Again
Of course, we’re probably not spoiling anything for you by saying the Throttle House guys found the BMW 1M to be every bit as good as they’d been led to believe. In fact, they came to pretty much the same conclusion I came to half a decade ago. That being: in the BMW 1M and M2 comparison, number one is number one for a reason. The car’s delightful old-school charms and “skunkworks” origin story make for a car that’s truly a once in a lifetime driving experience. Of course, particularly when it comes to the former, there are trade-offs.
As if trying to reinforce a negative stereotype, the 1M’s charge pipe failed during Throttle House’s original filming day…not several hundred meters from where the team picked up the car. If you’re as familiar with these cars as I am, you might have laughed out loud. Regardless, the car got sorted, and apparently nothing else prevented them from putting the car through the paces. Watch and enjoy!
