BMW will add a production of the M135i Concept to its new M Performance brand.
We’re starting to wonder what’s going to be left to see when we get to the Geneva Motor Show next month. Between inadvertent leaks – see our coverage of the Volvo V40 and Audi A3 yesterday – and advanced releases it seems like a sizable share of the 50-some previews will already be old news.
That included a whole host of BMW products that the maker offered up in advance earlier this month. But now, it seems, it almost forgot to clue us in on one final Geneva show car: the BMW M135i Concept.
The designation might seem odd. You might recall that with the 2011 BMW 1-Series pocket rocket the maker chose to call it the 1M, so as not to sully the legend of its original M1 supercar. Well, the Geneva concept is very definitely not a change of heart. The longer M135i designation reveals it is a prototype for the new mid-range BMW M Performance brand-within-a-brand.
BMW hints the M135i will make "more than" 300 horsepower and massive torque.
As TheDetroitBureau.com reported a few weeks back, BMW has recognized an apparent market for products that are more sporty than its mainstream line-up, but which are better day-to-day drivers – never mind a little less expensive – than the vaunted M range. That’s where a production version of the M135i Concept would slot in. Significantly, the new sub-brand will feature several ultra-high-performance diesel models, including one delivering M5 levels of acceleration. (For more on M Performance, Click Here.)
The show car arrives in three-door trim versus the earlier 5-door 1-Series prototype. According to BMW, the difference is more than just two doors. The M135i described as having a “more dynamic and elongated appearance,” with “powerfully flared” wheel arches, a rising character line and frameless windows.
While the M Performance line-up doesn’t get quite the brute power and extreme body detailing of a standard M, the BMW M135i Concept is clearly no slouch. It draws power from a TwinPoower twin-scroll turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six that produces “more than” 300 horsepower and gobs of torque.
The M135i Concept rides 18-inch M alloy wheels and has plenty of stopping power thanks to the M braking system.
Will we see a production version? Almost certainly. In the States? That’s another matter entirely and we’ll likely have to wait until Geneva to find out.