Does the M2 only exist because the 1M was a success?
Yes. It can be that simple. The 1M marked the birth of the small BMW M car. You can imagine: physically it was bigger than the classic E30 M3, but it created a right to exist for something under BMW's most famous badge. And it was, in the best tradition of these things, the result of a small team's after-hours efforts.
Okay, it had a clearer purpose than the Z3 M Coupe that had come fifteen years earlier, but it was still a mish-mash of what could be found in BMW warehouses. The rear suspension, differential and brakes came from the E92 M3, the 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six was also in the Z4 sDrive35. It was released in June 2011 and only 6,300 were made.
What made him such a legend?
One word: impetuosity. He was small, mean and touchy, making him a real fighter. It also had downsides: its seating position was too high, the lever was just a little too far away and the interior looked very much like that of a standard 1-series.
But those flared wheel arches gave it a great presence and its rawness was an integral part of its charm. The suspension wobbled and bounced more than was ideal: this was one of those cars that never let its driver forget that he was behind the wheel of a raw dower.
Can you also say the same about the most recent M2?
BMW has done something exceptionally well: this car feels and behaves like a 1M, while underneath it has almost nothing to do with it. In fact, it has much more in common with an M3, but with a shorter wheelbase and a downtuned engine. That does mean it has gotten bigger.
It is mainly the width that you notice when you just come from the 1M (it makes a difference of more than 80 millimeters); it takes up more space on the road. But BMW has made it feel extremely energetic – it turns in sharply and has a fairly softly tuned rear axle, so it dives like crazy from corner to corner and you can feel the rear wanting to die. He's very nice.
But you don't have to do it for his appearance, right?
Nah, this is another BMW with a 'challenging' appearance. The rather square sills and bumpers give the impression that the molds have remained in place. In addition, it is very expensive at 121,484 euros (76,100 in Belgium), and if you want the manual gearbox instead of the eight-speed automatic transmission, you will spend another 6 grand extra. Only 10 percent of buyers go for that, so BMW has already announced that this will be the last M car with a manual transmission ever.
How much do you spend for a 1M these days?
Feel free to think of an amount north of 50k, and copies with low mileage just add 20k on top of that. This means that it has increased in value over the past twelve years. This is mainly due to two things: its legendary status and its limited availability.
This is not the case with the M2s that followed. The previous generation was even the most popular M car ever. More than 60,000 were sold, so you can pick them up for significantly less: close to half the price of a 1M. These are the cars you must have.
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