Yes, I understand that a BMW 1M is not our usual thing at CC, as the limited production number and special oily bits make it much more of a regular classic than a curbside one. But I need to take a moment to show it to you and figure out just how it made it here to Honduras.
I…it’s weird for me to run out of words, but after three interesting cars found on the local classifieds I have been forced to reexamine my views. For many years I’ve held the perfectly reasonable assumption that there’s no car culture in my town apart from the occasional meet of the Mustang owners club to see the same ten cars over and over again. Think of it as a reverse Eugene, the cars don’t die because of rust but simply because people couldn’t care less. But it seems that I’ve been wrong all along. There actually is a car culture here. More than that, some people actually know what a good car is. Unlike that 220 or the 2002 that I found earlier, I can’t really chuck this one out to a greedy family getting rid of gramps old car to buy a Korean kimchi box. If you bought a BMW 1M there was no other reason than wanting one… Badly.
And so it has been that one of the 6309 BMW 1M ever produced is here…whomever buys it, it’s not likely to last very long. The dealership selling it is…let’s see…really?! The same dealer as the other two!? What is it with that place and getting a steady trickle of interesting metal? I suppose that it’s fair in this case as the parent company also deals with BMW. So all the people who can actually afford to buy into car culture just drop their trades there as they move to the latest and greatest. And I have no idea what they could have possibly traded this Black Sapphire, twin-turbo charged monster from. Whatever it was, they lost on the trade. Okay, because of a lack of a classic car scene it would be unlikely that this thing we would pay off as an investment. If you want to do that buy a new Hilux and sell it in two years in U.S dollars, it’ll hold it’s value a lot better than anything else on the road and maybe win more on the currency exchange. Expensive German specialty cars are more the things for people who are rich of wallet and masochistic in nature.
I wish I could tell you more about it apart from the exterior and interior colors, the fact that it has just done 1,333 km according to the listing and that I’m still 45% sure that I am hallucinating. But the other continual presence in that dealer? The incompetence on the listings. For starters, you’re once again required to call to inquire about the price, presumably so that the emergency services can be promptly called when they hear you having a heart attack, but they have managed to top themselves up this time.
This time, it seems like the intern mixed the M with the 25th Civic of the day and has decided that the engine on this one is a transverse four cylinder Honda engine. Not quite the 340-horsepower monster that I was expecting. Having said that, it could also be a very rare Honda-BMW collaboration that only produced a single prototype in the body of the 1M and has made its way to that dealership. Because honestly nothing would surprise me at this point. Borgward Isabella in mint condition? Ford Starliner 390-375? Steyr-Puch 650 TR II? There’s a car culture here; anything is possible as long as you can afford it.
I am by no means a big fan of most of BMW’s offerings as a whole, but I have always liked these 1 series two doors. I love the stubby looks; I think it was Car and Driver that likened it to the stance of a bulldog. I’ve had my eye out for a good 128i for a while now, and my best friend just said he’s looking to get into a lightly used 4 seat convertible. What else to recommend than a convertible 1 with that lovely silver thread stitched Moonlight Gray colored convertible top?
Who’s responsible for the one-size-fits-all Walmart floor mats? They look like they were intended for some yokel’s pick-em-up truck.
They are the correct mats, they are just pushed up about 4 inches further than they should be.
That said the car does seem very dirty inside. I get it’s a used car but come on…
Why does a BMW 1 have a Honda VTEC 3.5L V6 engine?
Good question. And what’s with the Florida license plate?
The exterior is black. The engine bay is white.
Look at the wipers in the exterior shot. They are going to the right from the point they are mounted. They are not the same as the wipers in the engine bay shot., which are going to the left.
I am calling shenanigans.
If you read closely he states that the dealership listed the engine incorrectly. I’m thinking that this is their photo from the listing, re-presented here to illustrate their mistake.
CC-effect strikes – I saw one of these this morning, there is no mistaking the flared wheel arches! Apparently 300 came to Australia.
I’m assuming future collectibility will be affected by the M2, it seems that resale value which held up pretty well initially, has eased more recently.
Clearly a special car, but I’ve never been able to muster much enthusiasm for the 1-series. While the 3-series may be too big these days and the 1 a return to more sensible sizing, the styling makes me think of a 3-series squished horizontally in a press. Way too tall for its length.