BMW’s involvement with the Olympic games is not a new event: nearly 40 years ago, it was again leading the charge at the Games of the XX Olympiad. 

Leading the charge, literally. Its fleet that time round was a series of orange BMW 1602 Elektro – pure EV cars that BMW had been developing since 1969.

These boasted some decent stats, given how they were pioneering modern-day electric cars. Despite a brace of 12v lead acid batteries, the motor was able to produce 43hp, and the range was more than enough to serve as a decent escort vehicle at the Games.

The orange 1602 Elektro even led the marathon and road walk events during the two-month Olympic Games event, suggesting the real-world range was 26 miles plus a decent safety margin… not bad for something using similar batteries to those in our cars today (check out the image – literally rows of car batteries…). The quoted range was 60km at a constant 50km/h.

Marking the start of BMW’s battery vehicle research programme, several more electric BMWs followed the 1602 Elektro through the years, culminating in the forthcoming launch of the i3 and i8. But it was back at the Olympic Games in 1972 that BMW’s EV aspirations first received global recognition.

How fitting that, 40 years on, the firm is back at the Games with a fleet that again includes electric vehicles: 200 MINI E and BMW 1 Series ActiveE will help make up the 4500-car fleet, which meets the sub-120g/km overall CO2 target set by LOCOG with ease.

Indeed, the green BMW and MINI fleet has seen BMW become a Tier One ‘Sustainability Partner’ for the 2012 London Olympics, no doubt aided, as board member Ian Robertson pointed out, by being voted Dow Jones’ most sustainable car company for five years in a row.

It says something for progress, though, that the chief reason for this big Olympic sustainability win is not the presence of EVs, but the fact 1842 320d EfficientDynamics will be used on the fleet. Yes, the 1602 Elektro showwd the world BMW could do zero emissions back in the 70s but, four decades on, it’s the low emissions of that car’s generational successor, the 3 Series, that gives BMW the real world win.

Seems even now, the world is not quite ready for electric cars. At least the Olympic effort to change minds is now underway…

London 2012 Olympics and BMW: the fleet

• 200 Electric Vehicles (MINI E and 1 Series ActiveE)
• 1842 320d EfficientDynamics (68.9mpg)
• 679 520d EfficientDynamics (62.8mpg)
• 20 5 Series ActiveHybrid (44.1mpg)
• 3 730Ld SE (41.5mpg)
• 6 MINI Cooper D Countryman (64.2mpg)
• 308 318d and 520d Touring EDs (62.8mpg/57.6mpg)
• 23 X3 and X5
• 30 on- andoOff-road motorcycles
• 400 BMW bicycles
• 971 Vans, MPVs and Minibuses

Designing a BMW 3 Series is one of the hardest tasks in the motor industry.

12.5 million have been sold to date and it is the world’s best selling premium-make car. It is also the best selling BMW and thus, says BMW Group design director Adrian van Hooydonk, the BMW people see on the road more than any other.

‘It has to look like a BMW, it has to say BMW to people. And any new design themes we want to introduce have to be seen on this model.’

This is why the F30 BMW 3 Series is no great break from tradition. To do anything other than evolve the classic long-wheelbase, short front overhang proportions would be wrong. That’s not to say the new one simply repackages the looks of the old, though. To explain what makes the new 3 Series special, Hooydonk talked through the new car…

Front

The precursor to a 3 Series, the 1968 BMW 2002, had single headlights and tall kidney grilles. This was where the facial graphic of the 3 Series was born. Come the 1983 E30 3 Series, twin headlights were fitted, cut off by the bonnet at the top to concentrate the look. The new 3 Series carries this theme on yet further.

The double headlamp look is retained, this time with the cylinders picked out by vivid white daytime LEDs. The bonnet cutoff is this time depicted by a ‘razor’ bar on top of the light. The grille is also wider and attached to the grille for the first time, a styling trick that makes the whole front look lower and wider. Debuting here, the look is coming to other BMWs too.

Side

This must express dynamic movement. ‘Design is a promise’ says Hooydonk. Two feature lines do this, moving upwards toward the rear to suggest forward motion. ‘The 3 Series is the sprinter of the family, and the design hints at a quick getaway.’

Hooydonk compares the angle of this feature line to that of bigger BMWs. On the 7 Series it is horizontal, running the entire length of the car unbroken. ‘This expresses presence and luxury.’ On the 5 Series, it is more angled, to help give it a strong autobahn-ready look. ‘The 5 Series has to express speed.’

Rear

The rear is the most familiar aspect to current 3 Series owners. Here, BMW has looked to enhance the car’s solidity by visual tricks that make the rear look wider even than its additional dimensions portray. Hooydonk’s goal was to make it look more cohesive than the current car, courtesy of subtle improvements to the shape of the now more vertical bootlid and better-configured bumper shape.

Details like the new L-shaped lights are a typical BMW trademark: here, they have a more diagonal upper edge to suggest sportiness ‘and there are two light bars within them at night: the 5 and 7 have three’.

Interior

‘The interior of a 3 Series has to develop round the driver, and we have enhanced this cockpit feel with the new car.’ Hooydonk says it has a strong asymmetry in its design, that extends from the upper dashboard itself right through the centre console and between the front seats. ‘It is more asymmetrical than any other BMW car.’

Premium details feature heavily. It has the black panel instruments of the 5 Series, plus a super-wide iDrive screen taken straight from the 7 Series. ‘It is the first time in this class a car has had such a large screen.’ The standalone design mimics modern flatscreen TVs, while a further nod to technology comes in additional stowage space inside. Smartphones, digital cameras, music players: ‘We all have many things we want to dump in our cars’.

Summary

Designing a BMW 3 Series is a heady task. It is such an icon, the stylists simply can’t get it wrong. While the F30 is familiar, it’s also more modern and stand-out in the key area that has long defined the 3 Series, the front end. Like it or loathe it, you’d better get used to it, as you’ll be seeing a lot of them on the road once the car is launched on 11 February 2012.

But do you like or loathe it? Do you agree with Hooydonk’s interpretation of what a 3 Series should be and how it should look? Share your thoughts on the look of the new F30 BMW 3 Series…

+ BMW ECO PRO

+ BMW 1 Series Power Meters

+ Customer feedback steers BMW engineers

The biggest influencer of fuel economy is the driver. Low rolling resistance tyres save 3%; auto stop-start can save 5% or more. 

The driver, however, can save 20% – and it is this massive potential, greater even than the sum total of every Bluemotion-style pack of eco changes to date, that BMW is seeking to tap into.

The new BMW 1 Series marks the debut of ECO PRO, an interactive function of iDrive that teaches greener driving and rewards for doing so (it’s also coming to the new 3 Series too). We’ve had such systems before – Fiat’s eco:Drive, Ford and Honda’s ‘petals’ and so forth – but BMW’s is the best yet.

More than just an electronic ‘badge’ that are usually an intriguing gimmick for a few weeks but then forgotten, ECO PRO offers tangible benefits that offer the potential for game-changing developments in the future.

It is opt-in: drivers must select ECO PRO from the BMW drive select switch (‘anti-Sport’ as one engineer dubbed it). Doing so does three things:

• Selects bespoke settings within engine ECU

• Optimises electric load

• Displays ECO PRO screen

The electric load saver function is meritorious in itself. No mainstream maker has fitted a function that dials back the electrical consumption of accessories such as electric seats and heated rear window: a bit like the National Grid cutting power delivery to your house.

The interactive element is the snazzy bit. All the time you are consuming less fuel than the car’s combined average, the famed BMW economy gauge (now electronically represented) dives into the blue zone. Blue means you’re saving fuel – and the deeper you can get it in there, the more fuel you’re saving.

There’s more. To make it tangible, an additional readout, also in blue, shows how many miles more you’re getting from the tank. This is the ingenious part: the more you take it steady, the more miles you eek out.

It is reset each time you refuel, so is stored even if you turn the engine off. Thus, a permanent incentive to save fuel and claw the miles back. A savings account that’s in your hands – so if you want a ‘free’ 50-mile’ trip on the weekended, ease off to claw back the miles.

There’s yet more. Don’t get the idea of eco driving? ECO PRO to the rescue – it flashes up tips and hints on the screen as you go, based on an analysis of driving style. It knows that heavy braking is not efficient, nor is going fast, nor is accelerating hard, nor is holding onto gears.

All of this stuff may be obvious to us, but it’s not to all: a few lines of text saying as much, as the driver commits the eco error, will soon give them the idea.

And as it’s all part of the challenge, if they’re engaged by saving fuel, they’ll be keen to take the messages on board.

Is this gamification of saving fuel, with an active feedback loop to provide tuition, the future of saving fuel? The driver is the single biggest key to big, big gains in fuel efficiency: are we to see more onboard games in the future, feeding a real-time PlayStation Network to turn drivers into eco-inspired gamers?

+ BMW 1 Series power meters

+ VW Golf R dials’ cool blue point

+ Diesel drives Peugeot sub-130g/km CO2 win

BMW is committed to a future of turbocharged engines, both diesel and petrol, that will enable it to drop each cylinder set down a peg.

The V10 is dead, thank god, replaced by V8s. In time, V8s will become straight-sixes. Straight-sixes will become four-cylinders. Four-cylinders will become three-pots. We might not see BMW Boxer engines in cars just yet, but don’t rule it out longer-term (Fiat’s done two-cylinders with TwinAir, after all).

Turbochargers are the enabler to ensuring fewer cylinders can still produce sufficient torque, power and big car feel. BMW, pone of the turbo pioneers in the 1970s, has a wealth of expertise to call upon, including that of Paul Rosch, leader of the 1980s F1 turbo programme.

BMW thus has a clear strategy for vehicle turbocharging, that caters for both petrol and diesel engines: this determines both the choice of turbocharger and guides the lengthy calibration process once development begins.

There are two basic strategies in BMW’s choice of turbocharger unit – one for diesel, one for petrol. The 1 Series, boasting an all-turbo engine line-up, is a good car to demonstrate this.

Ignore confusing names for now: BMW muddles things with its TwinPower Turbo naming system. The assumption this means ‘twin turbos’ is incorrect, but it’s not entirely obvious what it does actually mean. Nor is the fact it means different things for different fuels.

So, here’s BMW’s turbo strategy for the new 1 Series, in a nutshell.

Diesel

Variable geometry turbo

Variable geometry turbos optimise the aspect ratio of the turbo according to engine revs. They allow strong boost at low engine speed but don’t choke the turbo of air at high speeds.

The secret is a series of adjustable vanes, which direct airflow onto the turbine housing. They’re adjustable according to engine revs and manipulate the passage of exhaust gas.

Small exhaust gas flow at lower engines speeds sees the vane almost close. This directs a sharp flow of air (which is accelerated due to the narrow passage) to the turbine wheel, maximising its force and helping minimise turbo ‘lag’.

At high engine speeds, the vanes fully open, directing gases directly onto the turbines. This ensures the gas is fully unrestricted, maximising efficiently.

Variable geometry turbos are common on diesels, and their benefits are felt most strongly at low engine revs. They’re rare on petrol engines due to the much higher exhaust gases, which creates a challenge for the mechanical reliability of the adjustable vane system. Only Porsche currently offers a variable geometry petrol turbo, in the 911 Turbo.

Petrol

Twin-scroll turbo

Here, cylinders whose firing pulses interfere with each other are separated. In a four-cylinder engine, two cylinders feed the turbo on one side of the inlet, and the other two feed the separated-off other side.

Twin-scroll turbos are fed by a manifold similarly divided: instead of being open, it’s also divided in two. Result: exhaust gases flow more smoothly through the system, which allows the cylinders to be filled more completely and also scavenged more completely.

As it’s so much more efficient, greater valve overlap can be used, too – the exhaust gases are ‘self cleansing’ so don’t need such tight control in and out: this keeps cylinder temperatures down, which further improves efficiency.

BMW started the theory with the twin-turbo six-cylinder engine, whose units were fed by a dual trio of cylinders. “The we learned it’s even better to combine Valvetronic and a single twin-scroll turbo,” said the BMW engineer I spoke to on the launch. “This further reduces losses – any efficiency at the turbo level is very significant: as it is the breathing system of the motor, efficiencies are multiplied through the whole engine…”

Clever stuff. And if you want to really understand why it’s so important to separate out cylinder pulses, put your hand over a (cold) exhaust pipe, and feel the ‘pops’ of gas.

Mix and match?

Makes sense. But why not use twin-scroll on diesels? Pointless, said my BMW man. Diesels work at lower load, with more air, so the spread between min and max airflow is not as big.

BMW has instead tailored the characteristics of both feels to the characteristics of turbos available by suppliers. It has hidden this optimisation beneath the veneer of confusing names, sadly, but the merits are clear upon investigation.

The internal combustion engines is moving towards a turbocharged future. BMW possesses a great deal of IP in the area and continues to demonstrate this on its new car introductions.

Question is, what next for BMW’s turbo strategy?

+ flickr: on launch

+ Saab classic: USB press kit joy

+ BMW 1 Series power meters

Twitter addicts need to tweet all the time. Facebook fans need to update their status, and Like the thoughts of others, constantly.

Social media is all-pervasive and smartphones make it possible to do anywhere, at any time.

Unless you’re driving.

We all know this doesn’t stop people, but the law, commonsense and (hopefully) a developed sense of risk aversion all make it hard to be as interconnected when driving. Which is a pain if, say, you’re a commuter, driving home from work in the peak must-not-miss activity times.

Enter the car makers. BMW’s the latest to take on the challenge of in-car Facebook and Twitter, with a neat solution that harnesses the power of ConnectedDrive.

It’s accessed via a nudge of the iDrive controller: find it in the BMW Apps submenu. There, you have a choice of functions accessed through a smartphone dropped into the centre console (plugging it into a dedicated holster allows BMW to hook it into the car’s wired-in roof aerial, improving reception).

Key to these for Brits will be Facebook and Twitter. Functionality is centred around status updates and having the news of others flashed up on the iDrive display. Yes, even the avatars are displaced in status streams. It’s extremely neat.

Safe Facebook

Broadcasting your own status is the big deal, though. But BMW doesn’t demand you type out status updates. Good job: you’d be there all day, or in a hedge. Instead, it has a list of pre-prepared messages. And I know what you’re thinking here: dear god, how impossibly cheesy.

But wait. Lots of them are dynamic messages. Within a standard text message lies a function that auto-inserts selected variables. A bit like an in-car PHP programmer.

There’s some cool stuff here, explained BMW iDrive expert Dieter Leimig on the 1 Series launch. Happen to be listening to some 1990s indie track that will have your mates in raptures? There’s a message that will insert the track title automatically, and fire it out: I am listening to <insert track title>.

Want to tell folk how far away you are from arrival? There’s a message that lets you enter the <arrival time> from the sat nav. There’s one that lets you tell people you <location>. There’s one that lets you update what the <outside temperature> is.

Tweet or Facebook these at your leisure: it’s smart stuff from BMW and, in time, will hook into far more feeds from the car’s systems.

BMW Apps to grow

Indeed, BMW Apps, said Leimig, is predicted to be a growth area over the next yew years. “We’re giving people the possibility to load up new apps for the car – and, next year, there’s going to be a developer’s kit released, that will let people create their own apps.

“It’s a good way for people with a car that’s a few years old to add new functions and interest to their car.”

Can you think of any variable-embedded status updates that would work well? Or, can imagine any more ambitious apps that you could create, given a BMW developer’s toolkit?

If so, share ‘em below. BMW’s given us the platform and will, in 2012, give us the development kit: why not come up with the ideas to capitalise on it?

+ BMW 1 Series power meters

+ Evernote inspires Ford

+ Social media strategy advice needed

BMW is trying something new with the 1 Series, in an experiment it’s not shouting about just yet in case it falls flat.

Don’t worry, it’s nothing too far-out. We’re not getting a front-drive 1 Series or anything (yet). No, BMW’s playing with the idea of adding engine output meter functionality, via the multi-menu flexibility of its iDrive control system.

The 1 Series features a so-called ‘control display’, showing current power and torque output of the engine. These figures are displayed on very BMW-style electronic dials, whose orange markings ping up and down to show just what the engine’s up to.

They are very cool, fascinating to watch and reveal plenty. Three things they illustrate:

• The importance of torque

Power is a function of torque and revs, and it’s torque that does the work for you. Notice how the torque dials fills up slightly faster than the power dial, particularly at low revs?

That’s because it’s the Nms that are getting it moving, rather than power. That’s more critical at higher revs only – you’ll also see that the torque dial hits its peak quickly, with power rising as the revs grow. Which is more relevant more of the time, then?

• European markings

Power is displayed in kW; torque, in Nm. It’s not clear if this will be reconfigured for UK use – and, if so, into what. We like bhp; PS will be close enough for a digi-meter, I guess. We also prefer lb.ft for torque, but car makers are increasingly using Nm.

Could BMW’s choice of units help contextualise and familiarise people with modern Euro power units – and if so, could this help pan-EU standardisation if BMW sticks with what’s shown here?

• How overboost works

The 1 Series’ TwinPower Turbo engine in the new 116i has an overboost function, that raises maximum torque from 220Nm to 240Nm. The 118i shown here does not: its 250Nm is constant. Even so, the ‘peak’ pointer on the torque dial flicks back and forth from 240Nm to 205Nm a couple of times, as it will in the 116i… still, therefore, showing the principal of time-dependent functionality of overboost…

Feedback

‘We’re introducing it on the 1 Series to get customer feedback,’ said BMW’s Dieter Leimig. ‘If it is positive, it will go onto other cars.’

Being a dial geek, I like BMW’s new feature. Other makers have done it – Nissan GT-R springs to mind* – but this is something real-world and easily added to other BMWs with the ConnectedDrive (and Professional nav) system.

If they go down well, expect to see them on the new 3 Series, due out later this year. After that? Well, I’m eager to see what M does with them…

Are dials and instrumentation finally be, after years of being stripped back, about to get interesting again? On behalf of dial geeks everywhere, fingers crossed.

Oh, and if you want to see them in action, check out this video from the launch of the new BMW 1 Series:

* The last-gen Hyundai Coupe also sported a torque dial, on the centre console. Calibrated in Nm, maybe it was (*cough*) responsible for inspiring BMW?

+ How the Jaguar XKR-S was born

+ MINI Coupe: get it now?

+ SEAT + Germany = enjoyneering

The home of William Morris needs saving – and the National Trust needs £600,000 to do so.

Nuffield Place is currently owned by Oxford Nuffield College. It has offered to donate it to the National Trust: but, despite the ubergenerous donation, £600k is still needed to secure its future.

The idea is to open it up once again to the public, as part of the National Trust estate – the cash sum is thus needed to renovate it, install visitor facilities and run through all the other necessary (expensive) processes.

Here’s where you come in: the National Trust is asking for donations, which you can make through the National Trust donations page.

OK… so, why save Nuffield Place?

The house near Henley-on-Thames was the home of William Morris – later Lord Nuffield – between 1933 and his death in 1963. Remarkably, it remains all-but unchanged – it is, says the National Trust, a rare example of a complete 1930s upper-middle class home.

Supporters say it is ripe for conversion into a working museum, one ideal for educational visits. More ambitiously, some see it, in time, becoming an unofficial offshoot of the National Heritage Centre in Gaydon. The cars would be at BMIHT: the lifestyle behind them, at Nuffield Place.

There’s also potential to extend its corporate use: fascinatingly, BMW Group has already said it is willing to hold management away-day meetings there, particularly those related to Lord Nuffield’s old Cowley plant (now MINI Oxford).

Basically, saving Nuffield Place would preserve a look into the home and lifestyle of a UK car industry giant, who has been shamefully forgotten and unrecognised up to now.

Who was Lord Nuffield?

William Morris was Morris Motor Company, whose achievements we all know well. Morris Motor Company was the Volkswagen of its day: in the 1920s, the Morris Cowley and Oxford duo alone represented 40% of all British car production. Morris was the industrial giant at the head of this powerhouse.

What’s less well known is Morris’ remarkable philanthropy. It is this generosity that the National Trust hopes saving Nuffield Place will bring to the public’s attention – because Morris was a very, very generous man indeed.

He founded the Nuffield Foundation in 1943, with a £10m endowment, charging it with advancing education and social welfare. He also founded Nuffield College, Oxford, and gave generously to many other good causes, too. He had no children: charity was his way of leaving a legacy.

Over his lifetime, he gave away £30m. An amazing sum… and all the more eye-opening when you realise that’s the equivalent of £11 billion in today’s money.

Yes, £11 billion.

He’s thus not only one of the world’s greatest automotive entrepreneurs, says the National Trust, but he’s also one of Britain’s greatest modern benefactors. Morris was a pretty standout industry captain, a fact simply not all that well known by non-car fans.

The idea is for Nuffield Place to become the flag-bearer to tell people about this.

Morris Motor Company today

Morris did what he always vowed he wouldn’t do by the time of his death in 1963 – joined forces with Austin. After his death, the company slowly declined, with the name being phased out unceremoniously in 1984.

The final Morris car was the Ital; the last Morris made was a Metro van.

Currently, the Morris name is owned by SAIC – which, in further irony, is now making MGs under the MG Motor brand at Longbridge, former HQ of Morris’ arch-rival, Herbert Austin…

Morris deserves to be honoured much better than he is. Here’s hoping Nuffield Place is saved. It’s not only a fascinating 1930s time capsule, but it’s also a very significant piece of British motor industry history that gives an insight into an historical giant.

Spread the word: Save Nuffield Place. And here’s more reasons why:

+ June 2011: What is Land Rover doing at the moment?

+ MG insight ensures insurance advantage

+ Why Victoria Beckham is right for Range Rover

The Jaguar XKR-S started life in a way that will be familiar to designers the world over – using a storyboard process.

But although this process sounds suspiciously soft and fluffy for the logical and numbers-led world of engineers, it is apparently one that’s ideal for creating bespoke projects such as the Jaguar XKR-S.

Chief programme engineer Russ Varney explained on the car’s launch that Jaguar already has a set of defined standards it knows will, if followed, create an authentic Jaguar. However, in developing a model’s character and nature, a further set of targets is needed – created here through a process of storyboarding.

‘We begin with words, describing what the car should be. We can, for example, stick ‘steering should be more responsive’ on the board. We’ll also include references to a rival, or references to one of our own cars, which exhibits traits we’d also like on the car.

‘These words and references are then discussed and, in time, agreed. This is what gives us the core of the car, which we then translate into objective measurements that we can engineer, execute and verify. It’s how the character of the car is created.’

This, says Varney, was key to the XKR-S being a cohesive and convincing extension of the Jaguar XK range. Contrasting with the previous attempt at creating an XKR-S, back in 2008, shows how effective this process is. That car was less impressive, feeling more like a regular XKR with a higher top speed. The new one, in contrast, is a sub-brand in its own right.

Expect it to develop too, now Jaguar has launched the first genuine R-S model. Take BMW: it didn’t immediately begin with an M5: initially it was the 535i M, before the M5 arrived in 1985. Jaguar wants to establish and develop R-S now it’s discovered what it thinks the core of the sub-brand should be.

Not that the engineer’s hands are kept completely clean. ‘Once we arrive at a certain point, we have a loop in the cycle were we go out and drive. This is the only way to check it all matches and harmonises. This gives you the final 10%, which turns a good car into a great one.

With the foundations laid, Jaguar now has a platform to further hone the R-S line, bringing a profitable additional model series to the range at very little relative expense.

I used to storyboard in CDT at school, cutting up pages of the Argos catalogue to create my new award winning design. Maybe now it’s time I did the same with pages of Autocar.

+ Jaguar XKR-S: tunnel run YouTube star

+ 2012 Jaguar XF engineering: did you know?

+ June 2011: What is Land Rover doing at the moment?

The MINI Coupe was an in-the-metal visual challenge for me last week in Austria.

The swirly tape didn’t help. Covering the bit that’s different, emphasising the bit that’s the same. Above the shoulderline, it is far-out different. Below, it is a MINI Hatch*.

Baffled? Blindingly. I didn’t get it. But, wait.

On the MINI ‘mood board’ at the Austrian first drive was a bit of history. MINI is very keen on all this, as BMW is committed to fill the gaps good old British production planning neglected.

What was there? The Mini that never, officially, was. The Mini Coupe. Well, Mini Broadspeed, actually. And Mini Marcos. And Mini Midas. And Mini Unipower (one I’d never even heard of).

All were, yes, Mini Coupes: more sporting-style versions of the Mini saloon, giving the looks to match the spicy handling. All boasted a rear side profile almost identical to the MINI Coupe.

Look at the Mini Unipower (thanks, @andrewnoakes) Then, the MINI Coupe. Now has the penny dropped?

You don’t have to love either. You can idolise one and despise the other if you wish. Just give credit to BMW. The MINI Coupe is just a wee bit quirky and leftfield, a niche-within-niche, that proves, finally, MINI isn’t just about playing it safe with more blends of the same.

A Mini Coupe, until now, never was, but should have been. Thanks to BMW, it finally is – paying pleasing homage to the original Mini Coupes of all those years ago.

Which, to me, makes it that little bit cooler than I first thought. Do I get it now? You’ve got it.

*Make that MINI Convertible – the two share underpinnings, for that’s the only way the MINI Coupe could have such an open rear deck. So open, in fact, it additional strengthening over even the Cabrio (behind the rear seats is 25kg’s worth of reinforcement).

The BMW 1 Series M Coupe adventure continues: courtesy of some logistical brilliance by the BMW PR team, I’ve got one parked outside my house for the next 5 days.

The car was BMW’s SMMT Test Day model, which I drove away from Millbrook, thus realising a dream quite a few people who sampled it on the day had. Kid in a sweet shop time: here’s a 5-day driving impressions log of what the BMW 1 Series M Coupe is like in the real world.

Thursday 26 May

Away from SMMT, and straight onto the M1 for the schlep to London and the Ford of Britain Centenary dinner. Luckily, sat nav is standard on the 1M, so I could judge just how late I’d be: damned traffic.

In said traffic, the heavyish clutch is a bit of a pain over time, and the meaty gearbox requires the usual BMW ‘learning’ to realise its slick brilliance.

But what a marvelous in-city car it is, too. Visibility is great (a low shoulderline gives great over-shoulder views) and the ridiculously easy access to all that torque means no gap will ever be missed. Ride? Taut, albeit not crashy. The chassis also feels wide enough to straddle anything – traffic calming irritations included.

The drive back up the M40 was late, and completely effortless. It feels deliciously over-engined which means high-speed runs barely break a sweat. The low seats are excellent and stability is assured: again, it’s firm, but not uncomfortable, and reassuringly well tied down at high speeds.

Average economy? On the way down, 29.4mpg. Trip back, 26.4mpg. Reasonable, given how this was hardly eco-run time.

Oh, and one thing that’ll live with me for a long time will be how mean and moody it looked in the central London garage. As raw, pumped, extreme and industrial as the concret-block car park itself. Brilliant.

Friday 27 May

Busy day with deadlines means lots of in-town rushing around. I notice the oil temp gauge takes quite a long time to register – there’s a fair bit of engine there to warm up, and there’s never any high-revvery from me until any engine is so. Don’t need high revs in these situations, though. It’s so potent, 3000rpm is way more than enough.

Still haven’t cracked the gearshift, mind. Every time I’m new to a BMW, it takes time for it to switch from notchy and stiff to sublimely slick and quick. I think it’s a factor of clutch position and speed of shift. I overanalyse it every single time, just as I’m doing here.

Think I should just get on with driving it – alas, no time. That’ll have to wait until the weekend…

Saturday 28 May

Back into the M, properly – and, to ensure assessments are comprehensive, it’s off to the shopping centre. First, a discovery: the rubber lashing straps in the boot make THE perfect helmet holders. BMW really does think of all the priorities…

Girlfriend Tam loves the interior Alcantara, reckons the seats are particularly low and bolstered, and is pensive when it starts up to the burbling exhaust rort. Means only one thing: speedy.

I’m good, but I do give her one little taster. Verdict? A squeal and a few minutes of palpitations. Yup, she’s fast. Tam also notices the stiff ride, which all leaves her slightly on edge. Tiptoe-alert is great for the driver but perhaps not for all passengers.

Other observations – the door arm rests are too narrow and hard, which has me looking round for other awkward elements in the getting-dated interior. Changing gear smoothly involves judging when you lift off the accelerator, too: there’s none of the delay you get in other cars. The headlight washers appear to have the force of a Karcher pressure washer (at night, the beam patter actually dims, so forceful is the spray of fluid).

Average? Again, 26.1mpg.

Sunday 29 May

Cleaned it today: those CSL 19″s take an age. Notice also how short the roof is: this is a proper 1970s shilouette, as explained to me by designer Tim Rice at the Coupe’s launch.

Had a cracking in-city drive. So immediate and ample is the torque, you can get the rear sitting down an livening up with real ease. It’s a bit like a kart on tight switchback roads, with similar agility and standout tenacity.

Cracked the gearchange, too. It’s all down to how smartly you lift off the throttle and play with the reverse torque. Wonder if the lightened flywheel accentuates it? Certainly makes it deliciously vibrant through the gears.

Another start-up highlights the exhaust crackle-rumble. When cold, it sounds as if there’s a faint flume of fire flowing out: I love the buzz through the seat from them too. The noise seems to be coming from the absolute tips of them – magnified, of course, by there being four. Brilliant.

Monday 30 May