Egyptian Refuses to Pay $150,000 for BMW 1M Coupe, Shoe-horns M3 V8 into a 120d Coupe

If you live in the States and can justify spending a little under $50,000 on a car, the $47,010 BMW 1M Coupe (335hp) is a sound choice for those looking for a fast and fun to drive bimmer as it only costs $7,710 more the $39,300 135i Coupe (300hp) and $13,090 less than the $60,100 M3 Coupe (414hp).

However, in other parts of the world where governments apply ridiculously high taxes on cars, not even the 1M Coupe is a reasonable choice. Take Egypt for example.

According to 1addicts forum member “hatembmw”, the 1M Coupe costs some US$150,000 in Egypt because of the insane taxes! Who can blame him for not wanting to pay that much money for BMW's entry-level M model?

“Hatembmw” settled on a different solution: he took a 120d Coupe, stripped it down and swapped the four-cylinder diesel engine with a 414hp 4.0-liter V8 from the latest M3!

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Hartge's Untamed BMW 1 M Coupe Pushes Out 396-horses

Joining a multitude of tuners that have worked over the BMW 1 M Coupe this past year is Hartge. The German company's program includes both performance upgrades and styling modifications for the M version of the 1-Series Coupe.

The tweaking starts under the hood with a Hartge power kit and a sports exhaust system that improve upon the standard model's 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six lifting output from 335hp (340PS) to 396hp (401PS) at 5,850 rpm and maximum torque from 450Nm to 530Nm (391 lb-ft) at 2,950 rpm.

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New BMW M135i Concept gets Turbo'd Straight-Six with More than 300HP, Previews 3-Door Body Style

We told you the story and showed you the spy pictures, but today, BMW officially revealed the new M135i sports hatch, ahead of its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show.

Despite the fact that the Bavarian company is calling it a concept, it's not hard to see that the M135i is essentially ready to enter production, which it will within the next year.

Aside from previewing the next member of BMW's new M Performance range, the M135i also gives us our first look at the three-door version of the latest 1-Series range, which is currently available only in five-door form.

BMW's answer to the Audi RS3 is the first M Performance car with a gasoline and not a diesel engine. Under the hood lies a 3.0-liter Twin Power Turbo straight-six that BMW says delivers "more than 300 HP". Our sources state that it will produce 320-horsepower in production trim.

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AC Schnitzer to Showcase BMW 3-Series F30 Performance Program in Geneva

Joining ABT Sportsline at next month's Geneva Motor Show is another well-known tuning company from Germany, BMW-specialist AC Schnitzer.

The German tuner will use the Swiss auto show to present a variety of styling and performance parts for the new 2012 BMW 3-Series sedan, which is also known by its internal codename F30.

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