Hartge BMW 1 Series V8 -Feature German Vehicle

It really is an overblown M Coupe and that Z3M-based beast is still one of the best track-day weapons the company has ever produced. The H1 is just 8 inches longer, a half inch wider, weighs 44 pounds less and boasts greater than 130 bhp more power. Think about the layout of an inline six versus the heavier but shorter V8 and you'll swiftly see that, despite adding close to 440 pounds to the overall package, the bigger M5 unit doesn't screw the weight distribution by more than 1% more to the front end, and so you're left with 52/48 front-to-rear. That big V8 has been rammed into the engine bay after a lot of time and effort, and looks like it goes all the way back to the steering wheel when the hood's up. Hartge built an entire new subframe and an in-house suspension kit that drops the car into close contact with the 19-inch Hartge Classic wheels, 1.2 inches lower than a stock 1 Series. And any notion of understeer was carefully tuned out with countless hours round the Nordschleife, which would have been a wild ride indeed.

It's a racecar with plates and you'd have to be committed to drive it on a daily basis. The engine could go forever and this car could take the abuse, but it has just one nervous habit that takes it beyond the remit of an everyday driver. You need to match the revs on the downchange when pressing on with the largely forgotten art of heel-and-toe. Fail to do this perfectly and the back axle will lock momentarily and send the H1 into a slide. You can stay off the engine braking and rely on the massive eight-pot front calipers working with 15-inch cross-drilled floating rotors, but pushing the H1 V8 to its limits requires racing skills.

When they were about midway through the project I contacted Hartge and they seemed convinced, due to spiralling costs, they would not sell a single one of these cars. It's not even finished yet, the major German magazines hadn't touched the car by the time we got behind the wheel, and three sales are already in the offing. If just one of you is rich and reckless enough to buy one of these cars then Hartge will be happy, and believe me, so will you. It may look like a $100,000 1 Series, but what lies beneath is potentially the trackday BMW of the new millennium.