The folks over at AutoGespot spotted the new BMW 1M in Belgium. These are some of the few photos of the 1M in Valencia Orange rolling down on European roads and the color certainly stands out.
Initial 1M orders for 1M customers show that the two most popular paint jobs for the 1M are Alpine White and Valencia Orange. While Alpine White and Sapphire Black are available on other BMW models as well, the new Valencia Orange metallic is unique to the 1M.
The 1M official launch for the US market is nearly two weeks away and first units will arrive at BMW dealerships in just a few days. Since allocation is relatively low at the moment, first 1M vehicles are sold out. Production will ramp up in the following months so expect your local dealerships might receive extra units.
The new “baby-M” continues to make waves on the interwebs and not only, the car is slowly starting to prove itself and all the first reviews have been nothing short of positive. Just last week, German Magazine Sport Auto reported that the 1M was clocked at 1:14.1 minutes at Hockenheim race track, faster than the M3 Coupe with DCT gearbox, 1:14.2 minutes.
At Hockenheim, the 340 horsepower “baby-M” was also nearly a second faster than the Audi TT RS (1:15) and the RS5 Coupe (1:15.3). The Porsche Cayman S with manual transmission fell a bit short as well 1:14.3, but the PDK driven Cayman S lapped below the 1 Series M Coupe 1:13.9. As an interesting tidbit, the 1M was only 0,6 seconds slower than M3 E46 CSL.
Stay tuned for more 1M news in the upcoming weeks as we prepare for our BMW European Delivery in June.
Author: Horatiu Boeriu
Source: http://www.bmwblog.com/2011/04/30/bmw-1 ... -the-road/