autoevolution
 

2016 BMW X1 Seen With FWD Wheel Spin

Round about this time last year, rumors of BMW's front-wheel drive plans were rampant, including everything from the X1 crossover SUV to a front-drive Z2 roadster. We really didn't give that any serious thought until today.
BMW X1 is now FWD 10 photos
Photo: SB-Medien
2015 BMW F48 X1 Spyshots2015 BMW F48 X1 Spyshots2015 BMW F48 X1 Spyshots2015 BMW F48 X1 Spyshots2015 BMW F48 X1 Spyshots2015 BMW F48 X1 Spyshots2015 BMW F48 X1 Spyshots2015 BMW F48 X1 Spyshots2015 BMW F48 X1 Spyshots
Our spy video pretty much says it all: an X1 prototype spinning its front wheels. Since the Active Tourer isn't available yet, this is probably your first view of such blasphemy.

As hard to swallow as it might be, the move is justified. The niche created right after X1 came out has now been… embellished by the arrival of the Audi Q3 and Mercedes-Benz GLA, both based available with FWD.

As embarrassing as it might be, BMW now has to change its winning formula to make it a little bit more practical, perhaps a bit cheaper as well. This UKL1 architecture is shared with the next generation of MINI and is expected to underpin as many as 20 new car.

If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories