Auto News 5

In memory of our founder, David E. Davis, Jr., Automobile Magazine editors are choosing our ten favorite American Driver columns and will be posting one each day over the next two weeks.

I have very fond memories of our Four Seasons 2003 Infiniti FX45. Back then, closing each print issue required a trip to Chicago and, more often than not, I was one of two designated to make the drive. There was never a shortage of excellent vehicles in our test fleet, but after driving the FX45 once, I was hooked and it became my go-to vehicle for the monthly 500-mile trip. It provided the perfect mix of speed, handling, and luxury, and its elevated ride height allowed for a good view of the road ahead and eased the claustrophobia of the inevitable Chicago toll road traffic.

I first saw the 1-series M coupe in late 2009 in a cordoned-off garage of the Motorsport division headquarters in Garching, Germany, near Munich. The black prototype featured silver and gold BBS wheels, a set of highly extroverted air dams, and the then-stock 1-series interior. The real car looks a lot better, inside and out. The front air dam and rear spoiler aren't too flashy, but the reworked fenders, swollen to accommodate the wider front and rear track and ultra-fat, nineteen-inch wheels, are subtly purposeful. That's the case, at least, in the white or metallic black livery; choosing the metallic orange, a hue exclusive to the 1-series M Coupe, turns up the visual wattage significantly.