Is there no end to the number of niches BMW will explore? Some thought the 1-Series hatchback was a step away from the premium image of the blue and white badge and there are a surprising number on the road - despite the fact that the range overlaps in parts with the more elegant 3-Series saloon.
The recently launched three-door 1-Series is unlikely to set the sales chart alight, although it does look better proportioned than its five-door sibling. Hot on its heels, however, is the new 1-Series Coupé, and it's a knockout.
Gone is the awkward rear-end and in its place is a distinctive new glasshouse shape, not dissimilar to that of the 3-Series Coupé, and for those of us that remember it, with a touch of the classic BMW 2002 from the late 1960s.
The new car is not retro though; the regular "flame surfaced" 1-Series front end is intact, but now, the swage line runs from it into more muscular haunches.
Bizarrely, the Coupé is quoted as having more luggage space than the hatchback, thanks to an increase in overall length by more than 120mm. The rear seat splits 60/40 to aid access too.
Practicalities and style aside, the new 1-Series Coupé pledges to be a proper drivers' car. The initial range of engines may not be Irish tax-friendly, but they guarantee decent performance. Even the entry-level 2-litre turbodiesel musters a fine 174bhp and 350Nm of torque, and this is likely to be the best seller here, but it's eclipsed in the performance stakes by a new four-cylinder turbodiesel, making its world debut in the 1-Series Coupé, which manages 201bhp and 400Nm of torque. So-equipped, the 123d Coupé will allegedly hit 100km/h from rest in seven seconds and it has the potential to top 238km/h.
Topping the range is the 135i which receives an "M aerodynamics package" and has an excellent twin-turbo, direct-injection six-cylinder, with 302bhp and 400Nm being fed to the chunky rear tyres.
BMW coined the phrase "efficient dynamics" to represent its ethos of reducing fuel consumption and emissions, and it has applied this to the new 1-Series Coupé. Measures include brake energy regeneration, start-stop in traffic, electric power steering and optimum gearshift point light in certain models.
Together, these items help reduce the car's impact on the environment without unduly affecting the driving experience of the new Coupé.
Some might say that this is the car the 1-Series should always have been.