BMW 1-Series Coupe In Depth

Press Release

Concept: More Sport in the Compact Class.

Firmly established in the market, but still quite unique – this is the best way to describe the position of the BMW 1 Series in the compact car segment.

Introducing this outstanding model series, BMW has successfully extended its line-up down to the lower end of the market, at the same time genuinely enriching the compact segment through the first and to this day only rear-wheel-drive model in this part of the market.

The most sporting version of the BMW 1 Series is also BMW’s most compact coupé – a unique combination which gives the BMW 1 Series Coupé its particular appeal and very special style. So now the highly attractive design and the appealing character of a typical BMW Coupé is entering the BMW 1 Series segment, with consistent use of the car’s compact dimensions and low weight in the interest of optimum driving dynamics.

The exceptional torsional stiffness of the body structure, the technically most advanced and sophisticated chassis and suspension in the segment, and perfectly balanced 50 : 50 weight distribution likewise create ideal conditions for nimble and precise handling, interacting with the high-performance six- and four-cylinder power units to provide a truly unique driving experience.

Best results versus the competition – in terms of both performance and economy.

The BMW 1 Series Coupé thrills both the driver and the beholder from the start through its incomparably active and dynamic character standing out clearly over the competition through its unparalleled performance.

At the same time the car offers everything required to combine supreme driving dynamics with impressive efficiency, all engine variants of the BMW 1 Series Coupé ranking right at the top over the competition in terms of their balance of performance and fuel economy. Clearly, this makes BMW’s new two-door sports model a particularly attractive ambassador of the BMW EfficientDynamics development strategy.

Concentrating on pure driving pleasure, the BMW 1 Series Coupé further-more lives out BMW’s traditional spirit of sporting performance in a particularly modern form. Quite simply, this is the supreme symbiosis of agility and lightness, on the one hand, with superior drivetrain technology, on the other – which has always been the recipe for success in BMW’s most sporting models.

Driving pleasure in compact dimensions: the BMW 02 Series was the forerunner.

This is not the first time that BMW is setting the standard for driving pleasure by entering a smaller vehicle segment. On the contrary – the BMW 02 Series introduced way back in 1966 is acknowledged to this day as the forerunner in dynamic performance and agility. Rear-wheel drive, powerful engines and space for four – for 12 long years these were the elementary fortes of this successful model series.

In its design the BMW 02 Series was characterised by dynamic proportions with a short body overhang at the front, a powerful shoulder-line, a long engine compartment lid, and long wheelbase – styling elements now re-interpreted in the BMW 1 Series Coupé to provide an equally unique look.

Another exciting comparison is that the special edition BMW 2002 turbo ranking even higher than the top model in the BMW 02 Series – the BMW 2002 – marked the absolute climax of thrilling performance even back then. And today the BMW 135i Coupé with its 225 kW/306 hp Twin Turbo power unit offers a modern, contemporary rendition of this car concept in an entirely new class of its own.

Entering the US market: the BMW 1 Series is continuing its global story of success.

Launching the BMW 1 Series Coupé, BMW is now also set to introduce the 1 Series as the brand’s entry-level model in the USA: Introduction of the BMW 135i Coupé in the US market will indeed boost the concept of particu-larly sporting driving pleasure in a compact car to an unprecedented level in the USA, enabling the BMW 1 Series to continue its worldwide story of success and significantly expand its international presence in the market.

Design: Powerful, Striking, Unmistakable.

Just one look at the dynamic proportions of this unique two-door proves that driving pleasure is the philosophy and creed of the new BMW 1 Series: The long front end, the passenger cell – sometimes also referred to as the “greenhouse” – moved far to the rear, and the short rear end give the car a unique interpretation of the coupé concept making it stand out clearly from the competition.

Through its sporting and powerful overall look, the BMW 1 Series Coupé offers a supreme standard of individual style and emotional strength. Reflecting BMW’s design philosophy, the features of the car are highlighted authentically by the language of exterior and interior design, the dynamically designed surfaces, muscular wheel arches, and long, frameless doors bearing visible reference to the philosophy of rear-wheel drive quite unique in this segment – and, accordingly, to a driving experience otherwise only available in higher classes further up in the market. The generous and stylishly refined interior, finally, likewise reflects the premium character of the car.

Through its challengingly dynamic design, the new Coupé clearly extends and enriches the design language of the BMW 1 Series. Through its looks alone, this two-door brings out all the sporting and agile character of this particular model series in an unusually exciting form.

Above all the BMW 135i Coupé reveals its dynamic character at very first sight, this top model in the range boasting truly unique looks: Visible at very first sight, the modified M Aerodynamics Package featured as standard and carried over from the M Sports Package highlights the BMW 135i Coupé as the most powerful model in this series.

Appealing contrasts: the airy greenhouse resting on a stable body.

Through its sporting proportions alone, the BMW 1 Series Coupé holds an absolutely unique position within the compact segment. The entire silhouette of the car is dominated by striking and powerful lines. The most outstanding feature seen from the side is the distinctive shoulder line beneath the windows extending from the front end of the car along the entire side all the way to the rear lid and subdividing the body of the car into the light roof structure and a compact foundation. At the rear, finally, the shoulder line tapers out into the rear lid just above the rear light clusters.

Powerfully flared wheel arches accentuate the convex-concave surfaces of the side panels, at the same time creating a sleek flow towards the rear of the car, which further reinforces the interplay of light and shade between the side-sills and the lower segment of the side panel, thus serving to stretch out the silhouette even further.

Together with the widely flared wheel arches, the convex-concave surfaces underline the muscular flair of the BMW 1 Series Coupé with all the character of a well-trained athlete. Clearly, this again highlights the car’s permanent urge for performance wherever the driver wishes to go.

Through its innovative, dynamic surface design, the BMW 1 Series Coupé reveals its close relationship to the BMW Z4 likewise standing in its design for agility, progressiveness, and individual style.

The sporting, extra-low greenhouse moved far to the rear appears particularly light and agile in comparison with the muscular body of the car. Its soft contours reflect the underlying concept of such a compact car, clearly distin-guishing this Coupé from other fixed-head two-door BMW brand models.

And last but not least, this high quality, sophisticated surface design gives the compact BMW 1 Series Coupé all the character and class of higher model series.

Model-specific and new features at the front of the car.

The outgoing and active expression of the front end clearly reveals at first sight that the new Coupé is a member of the BMW 1 Series. The design of the radiator grille, the typical BMW kidney grille with its powerfully contoured chrome frame, and the headlights reflect the same body features at the front of the five- and three-door models.

Dark-coloured trim bars surrounding the lights create a clear optical contrast to the metal surrounds on the striking dual headlights. The optionally available bi-xenon round headlights, together with their corona-shaped light conductor rings serving to provide a daytime light function, likewise characterise the Coupé unmistakably as a BMW. The prominent chrome frame around the kidney grille, finally, adds to the particular style and flair of this compact model.

The new BMW 1 Series Coupé stands out from the three- and five-door hatchback models also through the new design of the air dam. On the BMW 123d Coupé and BMW 120d Coupé, the front air dam features a large central air intake at the bottom and two openings at the side. These openings are split horizontally and border on trim bars reflecting the swept arrow look of the engine compartment.

The foglamps are integrated in the upper section of the segments formed in this way, a large, homogenous surface without bumper bars characterising the bumpers positioned beneath.

Authentic in its expression.

The BMW 1 Series Coupé expresses its agile and dynamic character clearly, full of conviction and, at the same time, with absolute passion. The exterior look of the car is straightforward and quite simply smacks of power – self-confident without exaggerated gimmicks.

The BMW 1 Series Coupé clearly stands out as a genuine BMW in every respect, with all the qualities of BMW’s higher model series in terms of premium standards and the quest for leadership in its segment.

A feature typical of a BMW Coupé is the dark, glazed B-pillars creating the impression of a band of windows extending all through the car and further highlighted by the optional Chrome Line exterior. As a particularly dynamic element, the “Hofmeister kick” typical of BMW at the bottom of the C-pillar boasts that characteristic counter-swing to the front. The roof line, in turn, reaches its highest point behind the B-pillar, creating the impression of a genuine wedge shape symbolising the dynamic performance and sporting character of this agile Coupé right from the start even with the car at a standstill.

The long, frameless door and the B-pillar raked to a steep angle move the optical centrepoint of the car’s silhouette to the rear, creating the impression that the driver’s seating position has also been shifted further back.

Both of these effects again stand for agility and dynamic performance, while at the same time emphasising the concept of rear-wheel drive in the BMW 1 Series Coupé quite unique in this segment.

Rear-end design also standing out from the rest of the crowd.

The rear end of the BMW 1 Series Coupé is equally powerful and striking in its look, distinctive horizontal lines accentuating the sheer width of the car. In combination with the widely flared wheel arches, these powerful lines also bear testimony to the safe roadholding of the new Coupé.

As a particularly sporting feature, the rear lid boasts a carefully sculptured contour flap visualising the short rear end and enhancing downforce on the rear axle at high speeds. And last but not least, the rear end also comes with a third brake light integrated in the rear spoiler.

The subdivision of individual light units within the L-shaped rear light clusters follows the horizontal orientation of lines at the rear, with the back-up light and direction indicators standing out clearly as a white band.

Horizontal light conductors are also integrated into the rear-light clusters, illuminated by light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for a particularly homogeneous lighting effect. Indeed, this design feature already well-known from other model series clearly reveals in the dark that the BMW 1 Series Coupé is a genuine BMW in every respect. And finally, the two-stage brake lights varying in brightness and size as a function of brake power are another feature typical of BMW serving in addition to enhance safety on the road.

The new Sedona Red metallic body colour is reserved exclusively for the BMW 1 Series Coupé, which is furthermore available with eight more metallic paintwork colours and three standard colour options.

BMW 135i Coupé with distinctive differences in its looks.

As the top model in the range, the BMW 135i Coupé stands out clearly through its modified M Aerodynamics Package. Indeed, right from the start the front air dam with its extra-large central air intake emphasises the concept designed for superior driving dynamics. The two separate air intakes at the sides, in turn, are subdivided by a dark crossbar and border on slightly flared flaps extending deeper down than the central air intake to guide the air past the front wheels and emphasise the wide front end of the BMW 135i Coupé also in visual terms.

The side-sills of the BMW 135i Coupé also boast their own, distinctive design, an additional light edge reinforcing the wedge shape. Again, this design feature typical of a BMW Coupé creates the impression of dynamic performance right from the start, even with the car at a standstill.

To highlight the BMW 135i Coupé as the top model also from the rear, the middle section of the rear air dam is finished in matt anthracite beneath the bumper, where the integrated diffuser optimises the car’s aerodynamics.

The side sections finished in body colour point towards the rear wheels, accentuating the wide track of the car. A further feature is the dark chrome finish of the tailpipe covers on the exhaust system, while the discreet spoiler lip commonly referred to in motorsport as a “gurney” on the rear lid provides yet a further sign of distinction with a positive impact on the flow of air.

Soft radii and horizontal shapes determine the interior design.

The interior of the BMW 1 Series excels by its clear and at the same time solid, sophisticated flair. Dynamic, horizontal elements create a formal connection between the front and rear, with the interior offering space for up to four occupants giving the car a standard of class and sophistication otherwise to be admired only in higher segments of the market.

The cockpit is characterised by taut but widely stretching lines and surfaces, with the upper section of the dashboard finished in black. High-quality, natural-looking grain enhances this touch of quality.

The lower section of the dashboard comes in either Black, Grey or Beige, one of BMW’s so-called world colours, emphasising the orientation of the car through its horizontal design and creating a generous feeling of space.

The control console for entertainment is integrated smoothly and harmo-niously into the dashboard through its soft radii and flowing surfaces. It extends into the centre console between the two front seats accommodating the Controller masterminding the optional iDrive control system as well as a cupholder. Galvanised pearl gloss surfaces, for example on the opening levers for the doors and glove compartment, on the radio control buttons, on the controls of the optional automatic air conditioning, on the iDrive Controller and on the ornamental trim strips highlighting the optional leather sports steering wheel ensure further optical flair and individual style.

A special design feature integrated on the inside panels of the front doors between the upper waistline and the armrest follows the contours of the surrounding lines and is finished in the same material as the seats. In models finished in Boston leather available as an option, the high standard of quality and sophisticated look is further emphasised by an ornamental seam, while a map pocket is integrated in the lower part of the door lining as a particularly practical feature.

Formal harmony of front and rear.

The BMW 1 Series Coupé comes as standard with two single seats at the rear ensuring a high level of motoring comfort. The armrests as well as the cloth or leather inserts integrated in the side lining take up the design of the front door linings, a storage box between the two seats offering additional space for odds and ends. The rear-seat backrest, finally, is split 60 : 40 for an even higher standard of functional quality in this compact sports model.

To match the colour and look of the interior to the respective body colour and, at the same time, to emphasise the driver’s individual style, the BMW 1 Series Coupé is available with no less than four upholstery options – two in cloth, one combination of leather and cloth, and one all-leather option. These, in turn, come with a choice of three so-called world colours and nine individual colours.

The interior trim is available in five different versions including aluminium in fine-polish look, particularly sophisticated walnut, titanium with its technical and almost cool touch, as well as high-gloss Diamond Black.