Mario James, Gleaner Writer 
Available from Stewart Motors in December 2007 will be this revolutionary compact car, the 2008 BMW 135i coupé for under $7.0 million.- Photo courtesy of BMW AG
BMW has extruded the Kamm-tailed 1series and come with - tadaa - the 1 series coupé! What is amazing about this line is that the Bayerische Boys have shoehorned one of their mightiest in-line six engines into their lightest chassis.
The numbers shock and awe. Three litres produce 300 hp and 300lb/ft of torque from 1300 rpm. According to BMW, the car does the mile a minute from rest in 5.3 seconds. Now that is a respectable figure, but not quite in line with those gargantuan numbers. Research reveals that they are sandbagging. The quoted figures are actually from the new 3 series coupé, not this smaller pocket rocket. Educated guestimates have the times at quite a bit under five seconds with a 170 mph unrestricted top speed.
Available in Jamaica
Yes, it will be available in Jamaica. BMW enthusiasts should by now be salivating like a hungry Rottweiller. Those are Porsche numbers, my friends. Stewart Motors has put a tentative price of just under $7 million. While prohibitive to those of us whose pockets are filled with more lint than cash- that is not a bad price to pay for a supercar. For the well heeled, this is but a drop in the bucket. What does all this moola this get them?
A 6.6 kg per kilowatt power to weight ratio. Need I say more? Okay. Direct injection, with piezo injectors firing into the heart of the combustion process. These injectors are so high tech that the nozzle or pintle changes shape on a molecular level, allowing the fuel to pass, and then seal by reverting to the normal shape. BMW claims that this feature enables this 3,000 cc engine to sip gas to the tune of 30.7 mpg - tested on their EU test circuit. LED tail light clusters. Four seats with a 60:40 split at the rear.
Brake Energy Regeneration
Someone at the whirling propeller place thought that constant charging of the battery was wasteful. So the battery is charged only while braking and then only after the battery has reached a pre-determined lowest allowable voltage. The charging system is disconnected during acceleration freeing up horsepower and, as an aside, reducing emissions and leading to greater fuel economy.
Auto start stop
When a manual version of this baby comes to a stop light, the Auto Start Stop function takes over, switching off the engine automatically and without a sound. To restart, the nut behind the wheel just extends his clutch leg, and the engine relights. Cool, huh? BMW's Digital Control Unit also computes the best time for the driver to shift, based on load an thus keeping on a knife edge the best fuel economy/emissions balance and indicates this via an arrow symbol on the gauge pod.
There are two other power units available, both diesels, and both choc-a-bloc with tech. They are both 2.0 litre straight four engines. One with Variable Twin Turbo and common rail fuel injection, as well as a diesel particulates filter (good for our high sulphur content fuel), rated at 204 hp and 295lb/ft, and the other with the same spec but only one turbo which puts out 177 hp and 258lb/ft. Diesels are, by nature, low rpm beasts. They need to ingest huge amounts of air if they are to be considered sporty. But the large turbo chargers needed to pressurise the plenum are unresponsive at low speeds. So, BMW introduces a smaller turbine downstream of a larger one to minimise turbo lag. So when the engine needs to move air, the big turbo has already spooled up and ready to produce copious amounts of instantaneous boost.
Living the fantasy is not yet possible as the car has not arrived in Jamaica. Kim Bernard, sales and marketing executive for BMW importer Stewart Motors, has tentatively set a December date for the first cars to be shipped to Jamaica. We can't wait to see them.
