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Progress Report: (2023) BMW M2 vs BMW 1M (2010)

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Progress Report: (2023) BMW M2 vs BMW 1M (2010) | Top Gear

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Head to head in two generations of M-badged coupes. How do they compare?

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Progress Report: (2023) BMW M2 vs BMW 1M (2010)

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Head to head in two generations of M-badged coupes. How do they compare?

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Head to head in two generations of M-badged coupes. How do they compare?

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Progress Report: (2023) BMW M2 vs BMW 1M (2010)

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Progress Report: (2023) BMW M2 vs BMW 1M (2010)

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Progress Report: (2023) BMW M2 vs BMW 1M (2010)

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Head to head in two generations of M-badged coupes. How do they compare?

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Does the M2 only exist because the 1M was a success?

Yes. Simple as that. The 1M is genesis for the small BMW M car. OK, it’s physically bigger than an E30 M3, but it created a tier beneath BMW’s most revered badge. And it was, like so many of the best things, a skunkworks project. OK, it had more foresight and intention than the Z3 M Coupe that had arrived 15 years earlier, but it was still a parts bin special. The rear suspension, differential and brakes came from the E92 M3, the 3.0-litre twin-turbo straight six was shared with the Z4 sDrive 35. It went on sale in 2011 and just 6,300 were made, of which 450 came to the UK.

What made it such a legend?

One word: boisterous. Small, punchy and pugnacious, it was a proper little toughnut. It was also flawed: the driving position was too high, the gearlever was a reach away, the cabin was little modified inside from a regular 1 Series Coupe. But the flared arches gave it sensational stance and its rawness was a large part of its charm. The suspension did jiggle and bounce more than was ideal; this was a car that was never going to let its driver forget they were at the wheel of a rabble rouser.

Can the same be said of the latest M2?

BMW has done a very good job of making this car feel and act like a 1M when underneath it’s nothing of the sort. Actually it’s mostly an M3, just with a shorter wheelbase and a detuned engine. This does mean it’s got bigger. It’s the width you notice after the 1M (it’s over 80mm wider), it takes up more of the road. But BMW has made it feel very energetic – it’s got sharp turn-in and quite a soft rear axle, so it dives into corners and you can feel the back end wanting to come round. It’s a lot of fun.

But it's not a looker, is it?

No, this is another challenging BMW. The blocky sills and bumpers make it look rather like the cover moulds have been left on. At £64,890 it’s also very expensive and if you want the manual gearbox in place of the eight-speed auto that’s another £545. Only 10 per cent of last gen M2 buyers went for it, hence why BMW has already admitted this will be its last ever manual M car.

What do you have to pay for a 1M these days?

Upwards of £40,000, with most tidy, lower mileage cars at around the £60,000 mark. Which means they’ve increased in value over the past 12 years. That’s largely due to two things, their legendary status and limited supply. That’s not the case for the M2s that followed. The last gen was actually the most popular M car ever, with upwards of 60,000 sold, and as a result prices for the intermediate generations start at around £25,000 for a seven-year-old car. Those are the ones to have.

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Does the M2 only exist because the 1M was a success?

Yes. Simple as that. The 1M is genesis for the small BMW M car. OK, it’s physically bigger than an E30 M3, but it created a tier beneath BMW’s most revered badge. And it was, like so many of the best things, a skunkworks project. OK, it had more foresight and intention than the Z3 M Coupe that had arrived 15 years earlier, but it was still a parts bin special. The rear suspension, differential and brakes came from the E92 M3, the 3.0-litre twin-turbo straight six was shared with the Z4 sDrive 35. It went on sale in 2011 and just 6,300 were made, of which 450 came to the UK.

What made it such a legend?

One word: boisterous. Small, punchy and pugnacious, it was a proper little toughnut. It was also flawed: the driving position was too high, the gearlever was a reach away, the cabin was little modified inside from a regular 1 Series Coupe. But the flared arches gave it sensational stance and its rawness was a large part of its charm. The suspension did jiggle and bounce more than was ideal; this was a car that was never going to let its driver forget they were at the wheel of a rabble rouser.

Can the same be said of the latest M2?

BMW has done a very good job of making this car feel and act like a 1M when underneath it’s nothing of the sort. Actually it’s mostly an M3, just with a shorter wheelbase and a detuned engine. This does mean it’s got bigger. It’s the width you notice after the 1M (it’s over 80mm wider), it takes up more of the road. But BMW has made it feel very energetic – it’s got sharp turn-in and quite a soft rear axle, so it dives into corners and you can feel the back end wanting to come round. It’s a lot of fun.

But it's not a looker, is it?

No, this is another challenging BMW. The blocky sills and bumpers make it look rather like the cover moulds have been left on. At £64,890 it’s also very expensive and if you want the manual gearbox in place of the eight-speed auto that’s another £545. Only 10 per cent of last gen M2 buyers went for it, hence why BMW has already admitted this will be its last ever manual M car.

What do you have to pay for a 1M these days?

Upwards of £40,000, with most tidy, lower mileage cars at around the £60,000 mark. Which means they’ve increased in value over the past 12 years. That’s largely due to two things, their legendary status and limited supply. That’s not the case for the M2s that followed. The last gen was actually the most popular M car ever, with upwards of 60,000 sold, and as a result prices for the intermediate generations start at around £25,000 for a seven-year-old car. Those are the ones to have.

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Head to head in two generations of M-badged coupes. How do they compare?

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Progress Report:  (2023) BMW M2 vs BMW 1M (2010)