The five-door concept - called the Compact Activity Tourer - will be unveiled at the Paris motor show in September and go on sale in Europe in late 2013, followed by Australia in early 2014. It is a rival to the Mercedes-Benz B-Class and follows the rounded-roof, sloping tail style of the BMW 5-Series GT and X6 models.
As for a name, insiders contacted by Carsguide say it won't be a 1-Series. "It's probably to be called a 2-Series,'' one says, "because there has to be a distinction to the existing 1-Series rear-wheel drive models.'' The 2-Series GT concept is built on a new platform that will be shared with the next generation BMW-owned Mini that is also due in 2013.
BMW Australia spokesman Piers Scott says he can only confirm that a front-wheel drive BMW will be on show at Paris. "I can't tell you anymore than that,'' he says. BMW has long shrugged off front-wheel drive because it claims rear-drive cars offer better handling dynamics.
But cracks in the argument appeared last year when BMW director Ian Robertson went on record as saying: "... no-one has ever told me the driving dynamics of a Mini are questionable''. "I think we are very, very capable of developing a front wheel-drive platform that has certain advantages in terms of the design and the use of space, and at the same time will be a BMW as you always expected it to be,'' he said.
The 2-Series concept will be among the first of the BMW-Mini ensemble to have the option of a new breed of three-cylinder, 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engines. These turbocharged engines, known as N37 and N38, are modular and share components and cylinder design with BMW's six-cylinder petrol and diesel equivalents.
BMW is known to also be working on new-generation 2-litre four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines with direct-petrol injection and turbocharging. The common platform will allow the proposed 2-Series and the next Mini to share an all-wheel-drive system as an option.
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