KEY POINTS:
Set-square BMW coupes with compact dimensions, heaps of character and scary-fast performance - you might remember them from times such as the 1970s.
Go-faster versions of the classic 2002, including the ti and tii, still stand as sporting icons for the BMW brand, and the ultimate was the 2002 Turbo of 1973 with a heady 125kW/240Nm.
The spirit of the 2002 has been rekindled in the new coupe version of the 1-series - especially the flagship 135i, which boasts the sublime 3.0-litre 225kW/400Nm twin-turbo petrol engine from the 3-series and rear-wheel drive. This is a Volkswagen Golf-sized car, remember. Little wonder the 135i, with a six-speed automatic transmission, rockets to 100km/h in 5.4 seconds.
Being a BMW 1-series, it's little wonder it's ridiculously expensive - $81,500 for the two-pedal version most people will purchase, although there's a manual-transmission model for $78,500. Both come exclusively in M Sport specification, with a subtle body kit, including rear diffuser, and sports suspension.
On damp roads during our preview drive, the 135i proved it is not a car for the faint-hearted.
It's essentially safe, with great chassis balance and every electronic driver aid known to man, but go by seat-of-the-pants impressions and you're left in no doubt this is a wildly overpowered, old-school coupe, a mini muscle-car.
Peak torque is produced at just 2000rpm. On a low-traction surface, all you have to do is apply the throttle with a modicum of commitment and the car squats down at the back, with strong ideas about going sideways. Overtaking and highly illegal speeds are ridiculously easy to achieve on the shortest stretches of open-road.
Given the 1-series (any 1-series) already has the best steering feel of the BMW range, and the coupe is the lightest car in the line-up to be powered by that twin-turbo petrol motor, the 135i stands as something pretty special for the true enthusiast.
Yet high technology means the 135i returns 9.6 litres per 100km in the Combined cycle, which is deeply impressive for a machine of this performance potential.
Then again, "potential" is the word because if you use everything that's on offer under that flame-surfaced bonnet, the little BMW will have a pretty big appetite.
Our test drive would be an extreme example, however during a morning of rather enthusiastic use the 135i averaged 16.5l/100km.
There's a more sensible version of the 1-series coupe on offer - the catchy sounding 123d twin-turbo diesel, at $65,000 in standard trim or $70,500 as an M Sport.
It makes 150kW and the same 400Nm as the petrol 135i version, and it still does 0-100km/h in 7.0 seconds and returns 6.1l/100km, so it's the sensible choice. Its CO2 output of 157g/km should even please the Government.
But who wants to be sensible with such a car? Given the 123d's shorter power band and more guarded stability control calibration, the 135i is still the stand-out car.
Be glad there are still companies making mad machines such as this.
