Quote:
Originally Posted by DanG
I guess I am going to disagree with you. The 1M is an M car and the resale price also proves it.  |
Not only that but also the low production numbers and that it was launched pretty suddenly reminds a bit on how the z3m coupe came to be.
Also at that time there was no 6cyl M engine available anymore.
Fitting the V8 would be troublesome I imagine as that requires a bigger gearbox (that is consequently also a lot heavier) and I wonder if the e81 base plate has room for that. I don't think so without extensive mods (which of course is no problem for a shop to do when building a one off, but not suitable for series production).
So I don't think fitting the s65 V8 was an option, and besides, the NA era was already fading. I don't think bmw launched new M models after that with NA engines.
And that an M car uses parts bin parts from other M cars... that is normal. Think z3m and z4m, both use m3 parts extensively. Their platforms are linked just as the 1 series platform is linked to the 3 series platform (back then).
But it's true that the technical difference between the 1M and the then e82 135i is less than say the technical difference between the then e92M3 and e92 335i.