BMW boosts M140i with Performance Edition

BMW Australia will bring only 60 examples of its dressed-up M140i Performance Edition hot hatch to local showrooms in the second quarter of this year, priced from $71,900 before on-roads.

Of the 60 units coming to Australia, only 15 will be teamed with a six-speed manual gearbox, while the remaining 45 will employ an eight-speed automatic transmission.

The new special-edition Beemer is differentiated on the outside by a number of styling tweaks including 19-inch two-tone Orbit Grey lightweight alloy wheels, carbon-fibre exterior mirror covers, high-gloss black finish on the ubiquitous kidney grille, black rear fins and roof-mounted spoiler, and an increased performance note on the 3.0-litre turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine courtesy of the BMW M Performance exhaust system.

BMW has also added flairs to the interior including liberal use of Alcantara on the dash trim, sports seats, shift gaiter for manual variants, and steering wheel, which is finished with red stitching and carbon-fibre trim.

Carbon-fibre is also used on the manual gear-shift knob, while pedal covers are adorned with aluminium in a design that BMW says minimises foot slip.

There is also a bespoke numbered plaque on each example of the M140i Performance Edition, emblazoned with the M Performance logo and the particular vehicles build number out of 60.

BMW said the interior of the M140i Performance Edition was inspired by the limited-edition M4 GTS, which was released last year in a global run of 700 units to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the M3.

No changes have been made to the performance of the M140i’s 3.0-litre turbo-petrol inline six-cylinder engine, carrying over the 250kW/500Nm output of the non-Performance variants, with power being sent exclusively to the rear wheels.

However, the manual M140i will be equipped with a mechanical limited-slip differential (LSD) to help maximise traction and response.

Standard performance features carried over from the M140i include adaptive M suspension, variable sport steering and M Sport brakes with four-pot front and two-pot rear callipers.

Other features include adaptive LED headlights, iDrive5, BMW ConnectedDrive, front and rear parking sensors, speed limit info, adaptive cruise control, dual-zone climate control, Bluetooth and DAB+ digital radio capability and a 12-speaker Harman/Kardon audio system.

The M140i was updated in October last year, gaining power increases of 10kW/50Nm over the superseded M135i thanks to a switch from a front-mounted air-to-air intercooler to a top-mounted air-to-liquid charge-cooler.

BMW Australia CEO Marc Werner said the M140i Performance Edition would build on the following that the M140i has gained from hot hatch and driving fans.

“We have been very encouraged by the M140i’s performance since it arrived in the second half of 2016,” he said.

“It is a car with a strong enthusiast following. This Australian M140i Performance Edition builds further on these strengths and its limited production status creates a halo effect for the popular 1 Series range.”