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This is a E82 BMW 1-series we happened to spot in the parking lot a while back that caught our eye – we snapped a few photos and wanted to share some of the cool details we spotted on this stealthy E85-powered E82 BMW 135i exterior.

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The tail end of this 1er is what caught our interest. See that little “FLEX FUEL” badge? That’s a telltale this car runs on E85 fuel – in SoCal, it’s an inexpensive fuel that allows turbo cars like the BMW 135i to lay down more power than on 91 octane thanks to the cooler burn temperature of the ethanol fuel, allowing tuners to run more aggressive timing, more boost etc for more power. While it’s true E85 has less energy content than gasoline, E85 definitely has quite a bit of go-fast potential. It’s worth noting that to run E85 it takes special ECU programming and typically requires beefing up the high pressure fuel pump to flow as much fuel as is necessary with E85 (it takes more E85 per gallon than it does to travel the same distance on 91 octane).
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Besides the Flex Fuel badge, there’s not much else to give away just what goodies this 135i is hiding under the hood – stock black BMW Performance Exhaust peeks out from beneath a Carbon Fiber “Big Fin” Performance Style Diffuser for BMW E82 1-series, which compliments the carbon fiber trunk spoiler for BMW E82.

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BMW_E82_135i_Msport_CF_Diffuser_E85-9 This 135i didn’t stick around for long, giving us the chance to get a few quick rolling shots. Up front, there’s not much you can tell has been modified aside from the Matte Black Kidney Grilles for BMW E82 1-Series, though we suspect an oil cooler and larger FMIC hide behind the stock front bumper.BMW_E82_135i_Msport_CF_Diffuser_E85-10As this E85-powered 135i sped off, the exhaust note didn’t exactly sound stock to us, but like all the best sleepers, “Who knows?”

We hope you enjoyed checking out the photo gallery! While we have you with us, we’d like to take a moment to officially invite out all SoCal 1-series owners to join us for this year’s 1Fest, hosted right here at ModAuto, the ModBargains install shop.

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Interested in modding your BMW Suspension? Talk to our Mod Experts, give us a call at 714-582-3330 or chat live on ModBargains.com or just stop by our showroom between 8-5 Monday through Saturday in La Habra CA.

We hope you enjoyed the photos of this car as we enjoyed taking them. Thanks for reading, see you next time!

Story & Photos Nick Gregson