New Old School: 2008 BMW 135i
The BMW 1 series didn’t make it to the USA until 2008. The car made its European debut in 2004 in Europe and was available there in a three and five door (forbidden fruit) hatchback body style. The 1 series was billed as the spiritual successor of the modern classic E30. With three hundred horsepower and equal amount of torque routed to a proper 6 speed manual transmission, the 135i would show most any late model BMW its tail lights. Find this 2008 BMW 135i for sale in Torrington, CT for $14,000 via craigslist.
We have a two owner black sapphire on black car with 98,000 miles on it. The seller is a adult BMW enthusiast and has only listed the car because of a impending BMW M2 purchase. The car has the desirable M sport package which was as close as you could get to a M1. The car is said to have zero maintenance needs, no CELs, and title is in hand.
The seller notes the many weak points of the model as being up to snuff: N54 turbos, water pump, thermostat, high pressure fuel pump, oil solenoids, oil cooler gasket, alternator, and drive belt & tensioner. The car comes with winter and summer wheels.
The car is actually slightly shorter than a E30 despite having a slightly longer wheelbase. The backseat is best used for grade school aged children or contortionists. The 6 speed 135i runs a low 13 second 1/4 mile in stock form. The twin turbo N54 engine is a tuner favorite and extremely easy to tune for substantially more power should you want to scratch the itch.
See a better analog BMW for the money? email tips@dailyturismo.com
Cory is slowly working on his 1995 Mercedes C36 project and parting out a 1998 Mercedes C43.
Anyone here driven one of these? I am trying to talk my father into buying on. I bet they are a blast.
They are a supreme blast… My buddy has one and we'd drive it to Amelia Island for the Concourse every year from the Wash. DC area. We'd do it in about 9 hours flying as fast as we could under the radar. The car is very capable, yet it's short wheelbase did not provoke any twitchy or otherwise unpleasant handling. I'd get one but my heart lies with Stuttgart…
That nit for picking is the 1M, as opposed to the M1.
N54 is my favorite turbo motor of the masses. I tuned mine with Vishnu a handful of years back and the car was an absolute rocket on 93 octane. I had no problems with it whatsoever other than inexcusably wear-prone surface coatings inside.
I saw one of these the other day in white with 2002 Turbo livery. It was pretty cool.
[image src=" starmoz.com/images/bmw-2002-turbo-6.jpg" width="400px"/]