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BMW F52 1 Series Sedan Unveiled in China

Remember the BMW Concept Compact Sedan presented at the 2015 Guangzhou Auto Show? Well, that concept has recently turned into production reality in the form of this little fellow.
2017 BMW F52 1 Series Sedan 19 photos
Photo: BMW Brilliance China
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Introducing the 2017 BMW 1 Series Sedan. Produced in China and sold only in China (at least for the time being), the F52 is the first sedan in BMW history to ride on a front-wheel-drive platform. Though BMW keeps its lips shut about what’s hiding underneath the body shell, it’s been long known that the next-generation 1 Series will switch to a front-wheel-drive platform.

As a brief refresher, the BMW UKL (Untere Klasse) is an architecture currently used by the MINI Hatch, 5-door, Clubman, BMW X1, and the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer. BMW is similarly ambiguous regarding what’s under the hood. Based on what engines the other UKL-based nameplates employ, it’s fair to assume that the entry-level choice will come in the form of a 1.5-liter three-cylinder turbocharged powerplant with [ahem ahem] sufficient output.

The range-topping mill, on the other hand, will arrive in the shape of a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo with 231 PS (228 horsepower) and 350 Nm (258 lb-ft) of torque on tap. The same engine MINI shoehorns in its John Cooper Works models will be known as the 125i in the case of the all-new 1 Series Sedan. The question is, how do you feel about the F52 generation of the 1 Series?

I know this isn’t the most popular opinion out there, but the front-wheel-drive 1 Series had it coming. I mean, the Audi A3 sedan sends drive at the front, as does the Mercedes-Benz CLA. What I’m not too convinced about the F52 1 Series Sedan is an itsy-bitsy line in the press release attached below, a line that reads “unparalleled driving pleasure.” Right, and pigs fly.

Be that as it may, this is a true BMW sedan as far as exterior design is concerned. Despite the fact that BMW has published only one picture of the F52, it’s easy to see that the double kidney front grille, the corona rings in the headlights, the Hofmeister kink at the C-pillar, everything oozes BMW.

Fingers crossed the F52 will go on sale in America and Europe as well.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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