Will the 1series coupe be a better M3?

[Leadfoot]

Ever since BMW said they were to build a 1 series coupe I thought why when their is the 3seriers coupe for this. But after seeing how good the new 335i coupe is I started to wonder would a 135i coupe be the better car to have instead on an M3.

Think about it, the 335i weighs 1600kgs and still matches the old M3 in out right acceleration performance and in all other disciplines to betters it. Now the new M3 has an extra 70hp but it 50kgs heavier. What will the 135i weigh, I reckon no more than 1450kgs and combined with that amazing power unit will effectively match the performance of the M3v8 and all for £30K top compared to the opposite £50K for the M3. So what if it doesn't have an M-diff, I'm sure some of the tuners will be able to fit that.

Or will BMW drop the power of this unit to stop this from happening or possibly don't include the 3.0TT unit in the 1series coupe at all.

[quattro Gmbh]

m3 is quite different than a standard 3 series. it's similar to a gt car.

even e46 m3 is noticeably faster than a 335i both in a straight line and on track.

Track M3 (E46) 335i
Nordschleife 8:22 8:26
Tsukuba 1:08.20 1:14.953
Hockenheim Shorttrack 1:17.6 1:17.8

0-60 mph acceleration 5.1 5.4

i think 1.35i is no match for m3.

[Leadfoot]

m3 is quite different than a standard 3 series. it's similar to a gt car.

even e46 m3 is noticeably faster than a 335i both in a straight line and on track.

Track M3 (E46) 335i
Nordschleife 8:22 8:26
Tsukuba 1:08.20 1:14.953
Hockenheim Shorttrack 1:17.6 1:17.8

0-60 mph acceleration 5.1 5.4

i think 1.35i is no match for m3.

I think you will find that Tsukuba where was reasons why the 335i was so much slower, the ring time is for a 335i S/E and not a M/Sport version so again I think times will be close like it is with Hockenheim. As for the acceleration times, check a few of the American tests, the 335i has posted 4.8s to 60mph and 12.1s to 100mph, two times easily the equal of any M3 E46.

But given the fact that if power between the 135i and 335i stayed the same with an extra 150kgs plus weight lose in the 1series favour would drop it's time easily by 0.2s to 60mph and 0.7s to 100mph, it might not be quite the equal of the M3v8 but on in-gear acceleration it would easily win and as so many here believe weight is the key to making a great track car the 135i will have over 120kg on the M3 as well.