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BMW 1 Series GT Undergoes Testing at the Nurburgring

BMW's M135i is an awesome little car, probably a purer M car than some of the big barges they've been coming out with lately. But when you go at the bottom of the 1 Series range things are less rosy.
BMW 1 Series GT 1 photo
Photo: screenshot from Youtube
The RWD architecture of the car makes it a good handling machine, but isn't really relevant when you go for a basic 114i for example. It's not that the 1er has a transmission tunnel – a pot of premium cars have it because of the back seat air conditioning system – but there are limitation to what can be offered in terms of practicality.

That's why BMW is investing heavily in a new platform called the UKL1. The first car to use it will be the new MINI Cooper, to be revealed in two months, but there's also going to be a number of BMW applications. The 1 Series GT is probably the most important, a FWD-based 5-door compact car with plenty of storage.

Even though this is the first front-wheel drive BMW, it still looks dynamic and agile. Not a hot hatch, the prototype still manages to keep up with Nurburgring "traffic". Power should come from the new 1.5-liter turbo, which we've been told will become the new entry-level BMW engine, replacing all other current unit.

Video by TouriClips:
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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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.
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