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Originally Posted by nachob
I think about cars that are special and they have something unique that they can hang their hat on. The 83-84 GTI, fantastic econobox. The most fun car anyone can own. It really made a class of its own.
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The problem is that fond memories start to live a life of their own inside the mind, get slightly tweaked (embellished) and idealized as time goes by. The nostalgia process.
Your comparison with the early generation Volkswagen Golf GTI is also the one that "Top Gear" made when introducing the 1M. The 1M dynamics reminded Jeremy Clarkson to the one of the 80s VW Golf GTI. And he meant that as a compliment (here you can see it again (part [2] - see from 06:50 onwards)).
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Originally Posted by nachob
It as the last ///M car, probably the last BMW, only offered in a manual!
Remember when the 1M came out, it was not like every other BMW. It only came in manual, limited colors, no sunroof, only one interior, etc.
And it is the short development time frame which left the rough edges that made it something special.
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1M choices and options were as its development sequence and budget: limited. As indicated earlier, the 1M was definitely a crazy creative 'after hours' project of passionate staff at ///M, while management was spending holidays. Must have been great brainstorming sessions followed by a
"C'mon, let's do it !" moment. The final version that we know, is a slightly toned down version of the very original version (put together in two weeks or even less).
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Originally Posted by nachob
Kay Segler realized that perception is reality. Fun comes from your perception of speed an danger not just actual speed. You go 150 MPH in a Lorinzer S600 Biturbo and it feels like you're going 100.. you could almost doze off. Some people like dozing off but if you went 150MPH in the 1M, no way in hell you could doze off....you felt everything with it's mechanical suspension and the wind noise from the stubby unaerodynamic front end completely enveloped the cockpit and and merged with the engine growl to make for an event.
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There is hope that the 'outdated' manual transmission technology may be saved from extinction as it seems to become a
trending topic again for manufacturers of fast cars. They seem to have cracked the code: there is a nostalgic fanbase that considers itself hardcore brand
aficionados, still preferring stick over paddles, and prepared to pay a good price for the special car. And so the brand makes the image statement that
"they listened to their customers" and
"that there is still a strong fanbase for manuals", whilst not formally saying that, as manuals are inevitable a fraction slower than auto/DCT/PDK, the manual might tailgate, but not pass the more expensive fastest top horse of the pack. Examples of recent 340+hp manuals: 1M (2011), Boxster Spyder (2011 + 2015), Cayman GT4 (2015), Golf R400 (2016), Alfa Romeo Giulia (2016), etc. And the list will grow longer in the future. It's like the trend in the perfume industry: over the past decade perfume manufacturers came up with so-called 'sport' versions, to increase sales (especially sell more to male customers) and improve their image.
Why do many petrol heads prefer manuals ? I guess it's because you got to work the car, you got to physically pull and push the stick and dance with
both your feet. Your left feet ain't jealous of your right foot anymore. With a manual, the connection with the car is more visceral, more physical, more mechanical. Not only for the car, but also for the bones in your right arm and both your legs. No soft paddle click sending a signal to a computer to shift a gear. As I commented in another post, it feels as if the stick is an extension of your right arm (and actually it is), as if you could touch the chassis.
But, true, I perfectly understand that those using a car merely as a transport tool, rather than for driving fun, prefer the luxury of the computer doing most of the shifting job for them. And on the other side of the spectrum, quite some of those using the car on a track, prefer quicker shifting.
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Originally Posted by nachob
So I still might end up with an M2...who knows but after two years of thinking about and having time away from the 1M, I have renewed appreciation for what it is.
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Get an M2. It's another step forward. You won't regret it.