BMW 1 Series hatchbacks have stood out from the rest with its unique drivetrain and engine combinations. In the next generation, it appears the vehicle will be more in line with its competitors leaving its looks to do the talking.
Unlike most hatches, BMW 1 Series ride on a rear wheel drive setup with a front mounted engine. In its next generation, the German manufacturer is said to drop this layout in favour of a front engine front wheel drive layout.
To do this, they’ll borrow the UKL platform that Mini uses which results in the cabin being larger than the current generation thanks to certain mechanical parts being relocated.
Unfortunately, it looks as if the European brand is to drop the straight six engines leaving customers with a choice of four-cylinder motors instead.
From the spy shots, the next-gen BMW 1 Series is all too familiar with only minor changes detectable. The bonnet is smaller as the six-cylinder motor is being dropped and the top half of the rear end is reworked with more of an angle sloping towards the rear.
Other than that, it looks rather similar to the current generation of BMW 1 Series.
It’s unconfirmed when we’ll see the next-gen BMW 1-series launch. We expect the cover to be stripped off either later this year or early next year with an announcement to launch the model in late 2018 as a 2019 model.
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