Watch The Ultimate Modern BMW Coupe Track Test

How does the old BMW 1M coupe and the current M4 stack up against the shiny blue new BMW M2?

As a former owner of a BMW 3-Series coupe, which I bought because I couldn't afford a 1-Series, nothing gets my jibblies giggly more than seeing a track battle between all of the modern BMW M-Division coupes—that's the older 1M, the new M2 and the current M4 with the Competition Package. AutoExpress had all the fun:

The new M2 is up first, clocking in at 46.1 seconds around the AutoExpress track. Next up is the 1M, which, as it's pointed out, comes with the exact same available torque and the same number of gears, clocking a time of 46.4 seconds, just barely behind the new M2.

Finally, the pricier and more powerful M4 (with the Competition Package which adds some tires and tuning) goes around at 45.8 seconds.

So rather unsurprisingly, the direct hierarchy of the M4 beating the M2, which beats the 1M makes sense given the age, power outputs, and price of each car. But is three-tenths of a second faster in the M4 with an additional package really worth it?