BMW 1-Series M Coupe GTS/CSL for 2012?

Car designer Jon Sibal may have a scoop on the upcoming E82 1M Coupe - that we may see multiple iterations of that model.

In talking to his BMW sources, Sibal discovered that BMW are looking at special edition options for the upcoming 1M Coupe that could see a limited series variant taking inspiration from such BMW classics as the E36 LTW, E46 CSL and the more recent E92 GTS.

Sibal says specifically that BMW is considering a "Performance Program" for the 1M Coupe.

"Anything is possible, we have ideas and the creativity to expand. In the end it all comes down to the reception of the car," said Sibal's BMW source in an e-mail interview with him.

The next 1M Coupe is coming in a few days but production will run only until the spring of 2012. That is a little more than a year on the assembly line. And although BMW initially planned on limiting the 1M Coupe's number to 2700 units, it now says it will make as many as the market demands.

Sibal himself doubts we'll see a special edition 1M Coupe of this current generation. As his source tells him, they will probably hold onto those ideas for the next-generation.

The 1M Coupe will be unveiled this month featuring a 250 kW (340 PS / 335 bhp) twin-turbo inline six-cylinder engine. But, as we've previously reported, a BMW product sheet listing all of the 1-Series engines showed a U.S. specified model with 332 kW (451 PS / 445 bhp).

Could that have been a hint?