In addition to debuting the new 2008 M3 coupe and sedan at the 2007 LA Auto Show, BMW also introduced a new series called the 1 Series. Walking up and looking at the BMW 135i coupe was uneventful. The car failed to move me at all and so closely resembled the 3 Series that it made me wonder why BMW even bothered. You would expect with the 1 Series sitting numerically lower than the 3 series perhaps the difference is price.

BMW declined to comment on pricing for the 135i Coupe seen in these photos at the show. However, reports from others at the show are claiming that the price for the 1 series will be very close to that of the 3 series leaving many to wonder why BMW even went through the trouble.

If you were going to try to capture some lower level market for BMW, the expectation would be for a significantly lower price. I heard from some sources that the price for 1 series cars could actually be higher than that of the 3 series. We will have to wait and see how BMW prices the 1 series cars. The 135i coupe is powered by a 300 HP inline 6-cylinder engine that can push the car to a 0-60 time of 5.1 to 5.2 seconds depending on the transmission in the car. A BMW 128i coupe will also be available with a 230 HP motor producing 0-60 times in the area of 1 to 1.5 seconds slower than the 135i.