Guangzhou Motor Show - It's long been rumoured that BMW
is working on a sedan version of the 1 Series and this new concept car,
revealed at the Guangzhou Motor Show, implies that this is virtually a done
deal.
The aptly named BMW Concept Compact Sedan should give us
a good ideal of where BMW is heading with the design of its new 1 Series
four-door, and possibly also provides a few clues about forthcoming hatchback
and 2 Series models.
But here's the rub. It's also widely believed that the
current rear-wheel drive 1 Series hatch will be replaced by a front-wheel drive
car, essentially migrating onto the ULK platform that underpins the 2 Series
Active Tourer. It's also reported that the 1 Series hatch will also use this
front-wheel drive architecture from the get-go.
Sacrilege or good sense? Well, perhaps the latter is true
here considering BMW once discovered that most of its 1 Series customers didn't
even know that their car was rear-wheel drive. Besides, high-performance
versions of these next-gen 1 Series are sure to have xDrive all-wheel drive
transmission as per the Mercedes and Audi compacts.
As for the 1 Series sedan's engines, the current 2 Series
Active Tourer provides our best clue yet, with entry versions almost sure to be
powered by BMW's 1.5-litre three-cyinder turbopetrol and upper versions charged
along by the familiar 2-litre turbopetrol four., 13
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