What's the news?

We love the BMW 1M Coupé, awarding the baby M a full five stars when we drove it last year. It appears that some have not been quite as taken with the 335hp limited edition coupé though as German tuner G-Power has seen fit to boost the power of the sporty 1 Series to bring it more in line with the rest of the M family. How does 435hp and 590Nm of torque grab you?

Exterior

Beyond the orange striping and 20-inch wheels the G-Power BMW 1M looks remarkably like the car that BMW built. The standard exhaust system has been replaced with a titanium unit that is 20kg lighter and comes with the option of either titanium of carbon fibre for the quad pipes that peer out from under the rear valance.

Interior

G-Power has released no information or pictures of interior changes carried out to its 1M. We can only surmise this was because the engineers were too busy fiddling under the bonnet.

Mechanicals

The fact that the BMW 1M features a turbocharged engine did not deter supercharger specialists G-Power as, after taking the system to the workbench, it was found that the two methods of forced induction (BMW's TwinPower turbo and G-Power's ASA supercharger) were remarkably similar.

A custom engine map allowed G-Power to wind up the boost on the turbocharger and after replacing all the plumbing and cooling components with high performance items the result is those 435hp and 590Nm headline grabbing figures. Or to put it another way the G-Power 1M is 15hp and 195Nm more powerful that the V8-powered M3.

To cope with the boost in power the car wears 20-inch alloys wrapped in Michelin rubber that stretches to 295-section tyres at the rear. Standard suspension has been replaced by a G-Power GM-1RS coil-over system with nine selectable settings. Braking power has also increased thanks to the introduction of a G-Power Braking System that comprises six-pot calipers and 396mm discs.

Anything else?

If you are a BMW 1M owner that has tired of the standard power output and whose interest has been piqued by G-Power's work prepare to open your wallet. The power upgrades are a not unreasonable £8,000 plus installation, but if you want the whole package prepare to fork out over £33,000 - though you can cut £10,000 off that bill by opting for steel rather than ceramic brakes.

Paul Healy - 23 Aug 2012