At the present time BMW offers the 1 Series hatchback model for sale in most global markets, but plans are already underway for the 2-door coupe version of the 1 Series to hit the streets in 2008, which has been spotted testing in Germany recently. The cost effective BMW 1 Series coupe is expected to be a big seller when it launches, as it gives buyers an alternative to the costly 3 Series coupe, which many customers have said has grown too large to be practical for modern city life.

The BMW 1 series coupe will be sold to European, North American, and most likely to Australian buyers as well, and there's also been talk of a new sports version with more than 200kW of power hitting the rear skids.

Mercedes-Benz has its AMG cars, Audi's quattro performance division builds its hard core S and RS models and BMW has it's 'M' cars, and it is becoming ever more likely that BMW is getting set to revive the M1 name with its smallest performance car yet (Mini Cooper S not included).

In recent years BMW's top brass has dismissed reports that it will build a small M division car but times change, and so do the opinions of automobile executives. It is now believed that a new 2009 model M1 could hit the streets in late 2008/early 2009, a rear-wheel drive small coupe about the size of a Nissan 350Z and powered by a 6-cylinder engine.

It would rival cars such as the Lotus Elise.

The most likely engine types to power such a vehicle would be the old 3.2-litre 6-cylinder engine from the previous generation (E46) M3 which develops more than 250kW of power (343hp). Another option would be the twin turbocharged 3.0-litre inline six from the 335i coupe, or possible even an all-new light weight high performance 4-cylinder turbo engine.

The computer generated images rendered by the UK's Car magazine show what a possible M1 vehicle would look like.

One of the reasons why BMW was thought to be against any possible 1 Series coupe performance model was because the name, M1, has been used before by the company.

In the 1970s BMW built a mid-engined performance car to rival the Porsche 911, but it was an unattractive design and the sales flopped as a result.