Speculation abounds, but there is as yet no firm idea of the title BMW will apply to its upcoming, sub 1 Series front-drive car – but we are at least starting to get a picture of what it will look like.
With BMW’s virtual scotching of rumours that the next 1 Series will switch from rear drive, added to clear indications that the company is to introduce a small front-drive car, these pictures of a five-door hatch slithering through icy conditions clearly demonstrate the packaging advantages of such a configuration.
The Carparazzi photographers who captured the shots say the test mule is actually bigger than it appears here, probably a lot roomier than the nominally larger 1 series hatch.
Its front-drive mechanical configuration will bring BMW into the fold to compete with the likes of the upcoming Mercedes-Benz B-Class and Volkswagen’s Golf Plus.
The shape and proportions appear to indicate the five-door pictured here will look a lot like the three-door rendering previously published.
BMW has gone for broke with the stick-on paisley around the C-pillar area on this test mule, but a little imagination easily visualises an extra window aft of the rear door to take out some visual weight, while maximising visibility for the driver at the same time.
The car’s basic platform is likely to be shared with an upcoming MINI variant. The company has made no secret of its plans to bring an additional model at the bottom end of its range, and that it is to be a joint development with MINI.
Speaking to motoring.com.au recently, BMW’s local head of corporate communications Piers Scott said “Everybody assumes that the smallest car in the line-up — and there's no number under a '1' — will be the front-wheel drive car. But the reality is we've got other concepts yet to be unveiled and named, which would sit, potentially, beneath the 1 Series — if you're talking just straight wheelbase. And [they] would be potentially front-wheel drive."
The upcoming front-driver is also a likely recipient for the three-cylinder engines under development within the company and rumoured to be in line for the sixth generation 3 Series.
The sub 1 Series BMW is expected to arrive some time in 2013, in the same year as the next-generation MINI.
— with Carparazzi
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