As a followup to our original report in November on spy photos of the BMW 1-series two-door hatch, Hans G. Lehmann has now captured new shots of the car, in what appears to be production trim. (Front View | Rear View). Judging from the double exhaust pipes, Lehmann says the car is equipped with a 3.0 litre six-cylinder engine delivering about 250 hp. The car is expected to be shipping this summer. The Leftlane Perspective: It’s not clear if BMW will bring this car to North America. On one hand it would make sense considering the trend toward small cars, but on the other hand the Mini largely fills this void. One thing’s for sure, BMW will bring the 1-series coupe to the U.S., and we’ll let you know the moment spy shots appear of that exciting car.
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01/11, 1:44 PM
posted by:
Chris
Interesting to see if this will come to the US, and if it will sell well. I remember the 318ti that they tried to sell here in the nineties. It was aimed at the younger, entry-level buyer. It wasn’t a big hit, and only lasted a few years. This one’s execution seems better, as the 318ti was a bare bones 3 series with a hatch and an underpowered engine. If they price this model right, it should be a good seller, especially for the younger market.
01/11, 4:03 PM
posted by:
Jerry Mahoney
The problem with this will be that they can’t price it right since it is insanely overpriced to begin with.
All badge and no goods.
01/11, 5:19 PM
posted by:
Tony
Jerry,
How can a car with 50:50 front/rear weight distribution, rev-happy and tourquey motor, relatively low weight, world class suspension geometry, tight steering, and great breaking lack ‘goods’?
–Tony
01/11, 5:43 PM
posted by:
Madcapp
Yeaaaa…once they get a coupe version it will be ready for the USA. A smart BMW would put in a wheel well with a spare tire in the trunk, instead of runflats. Runflats have very short treadlife and extremely high prices to compliment their degraded ride/handling compared to conventional tires. Runflats are fine as an option if you want them, but not as the only equipment choice.
01/11, 9:32 PM
posted by:
Jerry Mahoney
Tony,
It has those goods, but I was talking the rediculous prices for leather, aircon, satnav. You can spec these things up to over $50K. For that money you can buy something far better.