BMW 1 Series: Hartge H1 5.0

By Motoring Channel Staff - 10/6/2005

BMW's new 1 Series represents the German company's desire to push into the prestige small car market and, as well as offering a number of 4-cylinder engines with its hatchback range, it even has a 6-cylinder variant that outputs 190kW.

But what happens when even 190kW of power is not enough? The Hartge H1.

The H1 V8 5.0 was both revealed and revelled at the Essen (Germany) Motorshow in December 2004, and is now available as part of Hartge's full product range.

If 6-cylinder rear wheel drive power in a prestige German hatch isn't enough, Hartge now offers a 5.0-litre V8-powered version of the car.

Once again the Hartge engineers created something special by transplanting a BMW 5.0-litre V8 into the newly released 1 series.

And this isn’t your normal BMW V8, as it features modified cylinder heads, revised camshaft, and its own engine software mapping; resulting in an output of 331kW (450hp) and 510Nm of torque.

To translate this phenomenal power to the ground in the 1 Series, a special drive shaft and 6-speed manual transaxle are installed, along with a new rear sub-frame.

With a kerb weight of just 1445kg (3200 lbs.), rendering a weight to power ratio of 3.23 kg/hp, the H1 catapults from 0-100 km/h in just 4.6 seconds. The amazing thrust continues to an ultimate top speed of 300km/h (188 mph), faster than the V10-powered BMW M5.

Having this much power on tap necessitated other improvements, typical of those applied to other Hartge BMW conversions.

It starts with the adjustable Hartge sport suspension, lowering the car 30mm (1.2-inches) and featuring specific rate springs and shock absorbers, as developed and defined by Hartge engineers on the Nurburging as well as the Autobahns and roadways of Germany, to provide a both sophisticated and athletic handling.

The best grip with this suspension is enabled by the high-performance tyres (from Pirelli or Continental) mounted on 19-inch Hartge Classic wheels. The fronts are 235/35 R19 while the rears measure 265/30 R19.

The H1 not only gets up to speed quickly, it also scrubs off that speed effectively, using a specific high-performance brake system from Hartge. This system includes 8-piston front brake calipers and huge 380mm cross-drilled floating rotors to create race-car-level deceleration values and street-proven durability.

The appearance is upgraded, starting with a newly designed front spoiler, and aesthetically supporting what lies beneath the skin. At the rear, a new and exclusive center mounted stainless steel rear silencer shines with dual round tail pipes, announcing the “bark” that accompanies the “bite” in this pedigreed automobile. Finally, a new rear spoiler completes the look, one to which most other drivers will be exposed.

Last but not least the owner and passengers are given the Hartge treatment, as the interior of the H1 is professionally sport-styled. Included in the package are motorsport racing seats, a Hartge leather sport steering wheel, carbon-fibre interior panels, an aluminium handbrake handle, gear knob, and foot pedals. Finally, a special Hartge 320km/h speedometer is fitted, revealing to the privileged pilot the vehicle's potential.

The Hartge H1 is another standout offering in the world of automotive accomplishments, continuing Hartge's heritage of taking BMWs to the next level. In this automobile, Hartge transforms a premium entry-level sedan to a pure-blooded sports car.

The full Hartge program also offers individual drive and styling components for the entire BMW product range, in addition to the new 1 Series, allowing any BMW owner to experience what Hartge calls . . . “the fine way of being fast!”™ (“die feine Art schnell zu sein!”)

Look out for something only the Hartge engineers could do: create the fastest BMW 1 Series in the world: the Hartge H1 5.0.