BMW 120D

As many will know by now, I am not even remotely warmed by German cars, so when the owner Paul approached me to do this shoot, I though here we go another boring car, but when we did the shoot I understood why so many people have the appeal to these cars. They are so well built - you can clearly see why their designers are at the top of the game - each small detail in the car has been so well thought out and designed. Even the small things like engine Start/Stop button caught my eye and I was on a mission to capture all that.

The owner - Paul, has had his share of fast cars in the past, like his stunning Honda Integra Type-R DC5, that was featured on here last year (click Here), so now he has decided to settle on something more subtle and more "everyday friendly". However he just couldn't leave it standard, so some modifications were underway.

 Paul upgraded the car audio system, changed the alloys and upgraded the front headlights.

For those who are not so familiar with these cars here is a brief history - The BMW 1 series is referred to as the small family car that replaced the BMW 3 series Compact model and is the cheapest in the BMW range. Designed by Christopher Champas in 2001, the car was finally approved and launched on 2004. As of 2013 this model is superseded by F20 and F21 model; however the E82 coupe and E88 convertible are still in production.

The 1 series model came in various engine capacities in range of straight 4 and straight six petrol and diesel engines, featuring rear wheel drive chassis, 50:50 weight balance in 3 and 5 door models. The 1 series range has received some facelift improvements in 2007  and 2011.