BMW has changed just about everything about what we’ve come to expect from the automotive legendary badge. They’ve swithched from rear-wheel drive to making AWD SUVs, introduced turbocharging which they didn’t want anything to do with a decade ago and are even about to put a V6 in the new M3.
The biggest change, however, comes in the form of front-wheel drive... the impure form of traction that BMW has shun away from until now. What does this mean for the cars we’ve come to like? Well, the 2014 BMW 1-Series Gran Turismo you see here is one of the victims.
From the way the bonnet is so much shorter and the way the passangers sit in the car, it’s clear this was designed with FWD as a main option, though AWD versions are also likely.
The 1-Series Gran Turismo is expected to share its modular platform with the next MINI Cooper, a strategy that was outlined by BMW’s Chairman of the Board, Norbert Reithofer.
“We will be extending the BMW and Mini brands into the small-car segment with new models and variants. For these new vehicles we could envisage developing a common architecture for both front- and four-wheel drive,” the official said at last year’s Geneva Motor Show.
Given the fact that the platforms will be shared with the Cooper, it’s likely the GT will use the new three-cylinder turbo engines we’ve heard about. Few other details are known at the moment, but the car should make its official debut in the late part o 2013.
From the way the bonnet is so much shorter and the way the passangers sit in the car, it’s clear this was designed with FWD as a main option, though AWD versions are also likely.
The 1-Series Gran Turismo is expected to share its modular platform with the next MINI Cooper, a strategy that was outlined by BMW’s Chairman of the Board, Norbert Reithofer.
“We will be extending the BMW and Mini brands into the small-car segment with new models and variants. For these new vehicles we could envisage developing a common architecture for both front- and four-wheel drive,” the official said at last year’s Geneva Motor Show.
Given the fact that the platforms will be shared with the Cooper, it’s likely the GT will use the new three-cylinder turbo engines we’ve heard about. Few other details are known at the moment, but the car should make its official debut in the late part o 2013.
Google News