In order to discuss the design of the 1M, we need to address the e82 1 series coupe first.
Chris Bangle headed the design of the car and he used to say that when the management told him they will build a small rwd car to slot below the 3 series, he immediately thought of the 2002.
Without being too obviously retro like the Beetle, 911 or PT cruiser of the era, he chose to take several cues off the 2002 that made the car so recognizable.
Most notable is the band of chrome that circles the entire car, front to rear, side to side. I dont think they ever gave it a name, but his idea to reintroduce that feature was first presented in the CS1 concept in (coincidently) 2002.
[IMG]
https://goo.gl/images/B189gB[/IMG]
The CS1 was also notable at the time for reintroducing the shark nose (grill slanted downwards) of older BMW designs. The shark nose is now adopted across the BMW range and is also in fashion with other car manufacturers.
The CS1's design was later refined and put into production as the 1 series hatchback, but the real highlight was definitely the coupe.
- Chris Bangle explains the 1 series coupe 1:00 ~ 4:30 -
The extremely short overhang, the right amount of dash to axle length and the carefully rearward positioning of the cabin is such an iconic BMW shape, it is recognizable even when car is under cover.
The diehard amongst you will remember that BMW toyed with the idea of reviving the 2002tii with a close to production concept car called the 1 series tii concept at the 2007 Tokyo Motorshow.
[IMG]
https://goo.gl/images/1pWf6r[/IMG]
I saw this car in person back then and the idea of a small lithe BMW coupe appealed to me massively. The link to the 2002tii justified its turbo engine as opposed to being a parts bin special.
For whatever reason, they decided not to produce the 135tii concept. Years later I was so glad to hear that they were making something more extreme. The 1 Series M coupe.
[IMG]
https://goo.gl/images/dV5uKn[/IMG]
By then the marketing people replaced the 2002tii with the e30 M3 as the 1M's spiritual predecessor. Maybe they thought this ambiguous association was offset by containing all attention within the M brand. Linking the 1M with the 2002tii better communicates its lineage in my opinion.
In terms of design though, the 1M completed the timeless shape first penned by Chris Bangle. I think this backstory is further proof of why the 1M looks and feels classier than the newer M2.
Now there are some major flaws in the rushed-to-production 1M's design. I don't like the way they tried to put an over sized vent in the front fenders and gave up when they realized that drilling a hole by hand was too expensive.
Even if they did managed to make it functional, they would regularly throw rocks and dirty water all over the side. This is fine for low mileage trophy supercars, but not for cars of this type.
[IMG]
https://goo.gl/images/YDKNtL[/IMG]
The M2 and M2 Competition are still really good designs that clearly look ahead to the future while the 1M is kind of like a 'greatest hits' album. Like how the e36 was a massive departure from the e30.
For what its worth, the 1M is a classy, timeless design that will last for a long time.