The front-wheel drive BMW 1 Series is finally out of the bag and the reception did get some mixed reactions. While some people agreed with the car moving to a FWD platform, others didn’t and those that didn’t made their feelings perfectly clear when the car was unveiled. No matter how you look at it though, I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a pretty big sales hit for a number of reasons. Sure, die hard fans will still be disappointed but BMW has the RWD 2 Series Coupe for those.
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One thing is obvious though: the 1 Series will never get a full-on M model. And this is not just our presumption but a bit of info that high-ranking BMW officials have repeated over and over again: there will never be an M model based on a FWD platform. That said, we’ve heard them make similar claims in the past; like the fact that they wouldn’t make an SUV or that they wouldn’t make a FWD car at all. Times change and so do plans.
The thing is, in the case of the 1 Series, the cheapest BMW you could buy was purchased by various companies and individuals mostly for the badge. Studies done by BMW showed that a vast majority of 1 Series owners/drivers didn’t even know the cars were rear-wheel drive in the first place. Thus, for those people, the practical side of things will matter more than anything and now, the 1 Series is more practical than ever.
The rendering at hand here was done by our friend JB Cars and shows the new 1 Series in M guise. It has the X3 M wheels on as well as a different bumper with larger air intakes to the sides. A new kidney grille and carbon fiber side mirrors seem to complete the package on this 3-door 1er, even though BMW clearly said there will be only a 5-door choice from now on. While this thing definitely looks cool, it will never happen.
