All-new BMW 1 Series debuts at celebratory M Festival

Back in the day, BMWs with the letter M were quite scarce. It didn’t matter how nice your everyday 3 Series was, it could never top the M3. The styling, the sound, the performance … you name it, it was the envy of any suburb. And in appreciating the value of the M performance brand, BMW has over the years expanded the letter into something bigger – and more affordable.

Nowadays you can opt for an M upgrade in almost any model. They start with the optional M styling and sport packs, have various derivatives across model ranges – like an M50d for instance in addition to a X6 M – and top out at not only the good old-fashioned full-blown Ms, but an hotter M Competition model.

In fact, according to chief executive: BMW M GmbH Markus Flasch, every second new BMW on the road in the world nowadays features an M Sports package. “Ms outsell competitors by far. In fact, we sell more Ms than [Mercedes] AMGs and Audi S do combined,’’ said Flasch, who jetted in for BMW’s second M Festival, held at Kyalami last week.

‘’M is one of our strongest brands. We estimated to sell 120 000 units by 2020 and at the rate we are going are already projecting that we’ll have reached 140 000 in 2019. And South Africa is a very prominent market for us. On a global scale, South Africa is ranked 13th overall as far a M sales go.’’

BMW launched a plethora of new M models at the festival including the X3 M Competition, the X4 M Competition and the M340i xDrive as well as two entirely new models ranges, the 1 Series and X6, which both feature M derivatives.

The manufacturer also took time to pay homage to its past by showing off the recently restored 530 MLE to the public for the first time. The story of this unique track-inspired car is well-documented. The 530 MLE was the most successful racing 5 Series in history when it was retired in 1985.

Unique in the world and limited to just over 200 models, the Rosslyn-produced vehicles saw weight-reduction measures that included bodywork and pedals drilled by hand, manual windows with no air conditioning and Mahle wheels.

After a year of painstaking restoration, in Rosslyn earlier this month BMW South Africa unveiled its latest restoration project in the company of four BMW Group South Africa employees who helped build the original more than four decades ago.

“Our brand is defined by its heritage. When I see the most successful racing 5 Series in the history of the company, I can understand where South Africans’ love of M stems from,” added Flasch.

The new One

Much has been said about the new 1 Series being front-wheel drive – mostly by people “turning in their grave” because BMW is normally rear-wheel drive – but the manufacturer maintains customers will benefit greatly from the new design.

After a five-year development process which saw a transfer of technology from BMW i to the core brand, Munich insists that the new 1 Series not only offers benchmark driving dynamics, but also a more spacious interior than the second generation as a result.

“I encourage anyone who might think a front-wheel drive BMW might live up to his or her expectation to try out the 1 Series. They will we very surprised,” said BMW Group South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa chief executive Tim Abbott.

Of the two models initially on offer in South Africa, only the 118i is front-wheel drive as the M135i xDrive is all-wheel drive. We only got to drive the 118i briefly during its official launch at the M Festival last week and the gentle drive from Kyalami to the Cradle of Humankind and back wasn’t really sufficient to make a proper comparison in terms of handling to that of the rear-wheel drive.

What we can say is that the ride quality and premium feel really were outstanding in a vehicle which at R480 898 offers the gateway to the BMW brand. The 118i features a 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine producing 103 kW of power and 220 Nm, mated to a six-speed manual gearbox in standard guise, or as option, a seven-speed dual-clutch Steptronic transmission, like we had on test, which behaved exactly like you would expect.

At the heart of the M135i is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo producing 225 kW and 450 Nm of torque, which is sent to all four wheels via the eight-speed Steptronic Sport transmission. The benefits of the added interior space are found in the knee room for rear passengers, which has been increased by 33 mm and the headroom that has gone up by 19 mm.

Rear passengers have 13 mm additional elbow room and front occupants 42 mm more, while the boot space goes up by 20-litres to 380-litres. The extra light provided from the panoramic sunroof available in the 1 Series for the first time also adds to the enhanced feeling of spaciousness all around the cabin.

The 1 Series is available with the option of two features that have previously only been seen in BMW models higher up the ladder: the BMW digital key and the BMW intelligent personal assistant.

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