A subtle touch for fans

Aftermarket tuning has its idiosyncrasies. Some tuners will beautify or destroy anything with wheels.

Some choose to focus on a certain brand.

Others may not exclusively specialise with one vehicle brand, yet interestingly, their names can become synonymous with a single marque.

An example is Kahn Design which is known for pimping Range Rovers, yet also do Porsche, Audi - or anything else they fancy will make a profit.

Some outfitters choose to concentrate purely on added flamboyance, attaching many an appendage on a vehicle with the aim of pleasing customers who require exclusive looks that will separate their cars from the mainstream.

Others are all about engineering, creating bespoke mechanical bits that will end up in seriously juiced up cars. Many such tuning companies seldom invest in wings and such attachments, the aim here being to cater to discerning individuals who place performance above form.

German tuner Hartge can be described as a hybrid company.

It has a solid background in this business and although it tinkers with many brands, it's famous for tuning BMW and MINI products.

But unlike other overboard BMW modifiers such as G-Power, ManHart, and Schnitzer, their cars largely look anonymous - normal so to speak.

They've just released a new 1 Series project which has had a bit done on the styling front.

They've fitted lowering springs, which reduce the ride height by 30mm and opted for a 19-inch alloy wheel set.

Hartge says individuals can also choose to accessorise the cabin with aluminium pedals, velour floor mats and Hartge badging.

So if you are typically "Zef" in your pimp tastes, you are unlikely to be bothered with this project and equally unconcerned with the range.

But for individuals who have pledged to a life of trendy spots and cafés, the new 1 Series is the latest "it-car". BMW's newest baby hatchback range arrived seriously "green", boasting newly developed, exclusively turbocharged small capacity engines that emit less carbon dioxide.

Emissions regulations have made it that much more difficult for manufacturers to create cars that are easy on the planet, yet raise goosebumps on the arms of enthusiasts.

BMW seems to be living up to the challenge, and Hartge too looks to be following suit.

Hartge has embraced this new way of doing things, engineering added performance by revising the ECU on the infant of the range, the 116d, which we don't get here, to produce 104kW and 310Nm.

This is 2.0-litre diesel power territory. Similarly, with the 118d - and no, we don't have this one either - theirs develops 128kW and 380Nm.

The car we do have, the 120d, can be tuned to produce 160kW and 450Nm.

To put this into perspective, the torque is the same as the Z4 sDrive 35iS, or chillingly, it's the same amount that's wielded by the 1M Coupe.