14 Years Later, The Only BMW 1M Java Green Is Still Spectacular

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Wednesday, 24 Jun 2026 14:28 0 2 autotech

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Article Summary

BMW made 6,309 1Ms but only this car was painted in Java Green.
It’s among the last 1Ms assembled before production ended in June 2012.
Nicknamed “Green Mamba,” it’s one of just four cars to feature an Individual color.

The 1 Series M Coupe, or simply the 1M, hails from a time when BMW’s smallest car stayed true to the brand’s heritage. It had a longitudinally mounted inline-six engine that sent power to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox. At 4.38 meters long and weighing 1,495 kilograms, it was also small and lightweight, making it a fun, tossable M car.

The 1M remains highly revered among BMW enthusiasts, even 14 years after production ended. One of the last cars to roll off the assembly line in Leipzig is this Java Green example. Mind you, it’s the only one that left the factory wearing this color. At the same time, it’s one of just four 1Ms to receive an Individual exterior finish. We recently talked about one of the two cars painted in Monte Carlo Blue, while a third was finished in Atacama Yellow.

The BMW 1M Had Limited Color Options

Even when parked next to several other 1Ms, the car still stands out thanks to its eye-catching paint job. Most people associate the 1M with Valencia Orange because of the press photos, but BMW also offered two other standard colors at the time: Alpine White and Black Sapphire.

While the 1 Series has been a front-wheel-drive car powered by three- and four-cylinder engines since 2019, the 1M still has a spiritual successor in the M2. You can still get it with rear-wheel drive, six cylinders, and three pedals, but like virtually every other car on the market, it’s larger and heavier than its predecessor. The G87 measures 4.58 meters in length and weighs 1,705 kilograms, so it’s not quite the 1M of old. Still, we’ll take what we can get.