Dinan Engineering adds power and improved handling to the 2011 BMW 1M Coupe, and let’s not forget irony.
Irony? Yes, because the S3-R, an extensively tuned version of the Bavarian pocket rocket, doesn’t come across as a modified car. It’s not an unreliable, one-dimensional creation. It doesn’t even remind Autoblog’s Michael Harley of a Dinan. “It was so fully formed and well-rounded that it felt like BMW itself had made it.”
But the BMW certainly has been touched by the California company.
The twin-turbo 3-liter I6 has been fitted with larger snails, a high-capacity oil cooler, an up-sized air-to-air intercooler, free-flowing pipes and higher boost. Horsepower has been cranked up from an already impressive 335 to an absolutely tire-shredding 444. Torque goes up by an even bigger amount, to 450 lb-ft.
Every corner of the S3-R’s underpinnings receives the Dinan treatment. Adjustable coilover struts and springs, bearings, toe links — the works. As a result, the handling is almost neutral. “On the LA Basin’s relatively polished roads, these new components do their job inoffensively, and there isn’t a single squeak, rattle or rumble from the chassis.”
Dinan’s tiny terror is as liveable as it is souped-up. It’s surprisingly spacious and has a useful trunk. And Harley observed 30.1 mpg over a 100-mile road trip. That’s great for a vehicle whose donor machine was only rated for 26 mpg on the highway.
Although Autoblog’s West Coast editor thinks the S3-R can benefit from softer tires and solid or slotted brake rotors (as opposed to its cross-drilled units), he ultimately states, “I am absolutely smitten with this little black coupe. BMW built a near-perfect car in 2011 with its 1 Series M Coupe, but the determined team at Dinan Engineering has demonstrated that it can indeed polish and improve a masterpiece.”
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
