Photo: CarPix
Hidden under a thick layer of camouflage, one of the most controversial projects BMW has ever created was recently spotted near the Nurburgring track. It's the 1 Series hatch, or rather the M Performance version of it.
Technically, this isn't the first front-wheel-drive BMW has made. That honor falls to the 2 Series Active Tourer. However, this one hits us where it hurts the most because it replaces one of the most loved hatchbacks ever made, the M135i/M140i.
In place of a longitudinal six-cylinder, BMW is going to give us a 2-liter turbo in a bid to compete with the VW Golf R. Hans, get ze flamethrower!
The specifics of this project are still covered. While our info dating quite a few months back suggests the car will be called M135i and have 300 HP on the dot, British media names it the M130iX M Performance and suggests it's going to get more.
But perhaps the biggest change here is the power distribution, which will favor the front wheels. That's unlike any BMW ever to wear an M badge... unless it's an M Sport.
“That challenge is the biggest challenge, because we want to have a typical M feeling which goes more naturally with rear-wheel drive. If you want to do that with front-wheel drive, I think that’s the biggest challenge you can have," said M division boss Frank Van Meel in an interview last month.
Of course, the whole point of making the 1 Series FWD is for it to become practical. That's why models like the 116i or the 118d will finally make sense in the penny-pinching world of fleet sales and family compacts. Remember, the 1er just lost in a comparative review with the Audi A3 and Mercedes A-Class, and BMW can't be too happy about even the smallest of losses.
In place of a longitudinal six-cylinder, BMW is going to give us a 2-liter turbo in a bid to compete with the VW Golf R. Hans, get ze flamethrower!
The specifics of this project are still covered. While our info dating quite a few months back suggests the car will be called M135i and have 300 HP on the dot, British media names it the M130iX M Performance and suggests it's going to get more.
But perhaps the biggest change here is the power distribution, which will favor the front wheels. That's unlike any BMW ever to wear an M badge... unless it's an M Sport.
“That challenge is the biggest challenge, because we want to have a typical M feeling which goes more naturally with rear-wheel drive. If you want to do that with front-wheel drive, I think that’s the biggest challenge you can have," said M division boss Frank Van Meel in an interview last month.
Of course, the whole point of making the 1 Series FWD is for it to become practical. That's why models like the 116i or the 118d will finally make sense in the penny-pinching world of fleet sales and family compacts. Remember, the 1er just lost in a comparative review with the Audi A3 and Mercedes A-Class, and BMW can't be too happy about even the smallest of losses.
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