At what Winding Road described as a "corporate event this week," BMW officials have confirmed that the 1-series will be making its way to U.S. shores in 2008. The official announcement is expected later this year, which will finally put to rest the speculation we've been covering for far too long.
Just the fact that the 1-series is on its way is big enough news, but the real deal-sealer is that the two-door hatch will debut with the highly desirable, yet under clocked, twin-turbo 3-liter, inline-six. The 135i will be the first vehicle to be offered up to American enthusiasts, with the 130i coming at a later date.
Mr. Brennan over at Winding Road stressed that the 1-series will be offered in two-door versions (with an "s") in the future, including a convertible, a proper coupe and the aforementioned hatchback.
We've already made the case for a spiritual successor to the 2002 and it seems that the boys in Munich have the same idea, but a four-cylinder engine won't make its way under the bonnet until BMW, "does a proper turbocharged four-cylinder engine." Both a twin-turbo six and a blown four? It seems that BMW may finally be making products for the market it's been neglecting for over a decade.
As for price, expect the 1-series to fit snuggly between the MINI and the 3-series, with a $5k premium for the twin-turbo'd six.
[Source: Winding Road]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Talis @ Jan 17th 2007 8:19PM
meh. The hype is over... I don't care anymore--where's my 328?
Aardappel @ Jan 17th 2007 8:21PM
Anyone any idea what the weight on this thing will be? because if its lighter than the 3 series, the twin turbo version will be one silly fast bmw.
proud like cow @ Jan 17th 2007 8:22PM
awesome, id rather have a 3 door 135i m sport than the overweight 3 series.
finally they will retake the market that first earned them a place in the us market. the small hi performance sports coupe and sedan.
does anyone know if the 1 series can be made to work as a 4 door sedan?
doglet @ Jan 17th 2007 8:31PM
i believe that the curb weight for the 5 door disel was about 3100 lbs. i would expect the 3 door and the coupe to weigh less but the tt6 will weigh more as will the drivetrain components and brakes.
im more excited about the 130i, i dont need 300+ hp in a 3000 lbs car. id rather have 255 and 2900 lbs and the more affordable engine.
Damon Lavrinc @ Jan 17th 2007 8:34PM
Aardappel - The four-door 130i hatch comes in about 3,197 lbs. Certainly not light, but I think it would be safe to expect the two-door hatch should be under the ton-and-a-half mark. Figure the 130i does 0-60 in 6.1 sec.
Proud like cow - We've heard rumors about a four-door with a proper trunk, but no confirmation.
doglet @ Jan 17th 2007 8:56PM
they have already shown a beautiful 1 series convertable in the US. looked like it would make a great coupe also.
cant wait to see what those look like.
doglet @ Jan 17th 2007 8:58PM
http://www.bmwworld.com/models/concepts/cs1.htm
MikeW @ Jan 17th 2007 9:00PM
guesses (highballing it) 3250lbs 135i stick, 3300lbs 135i auto
weights are at the end 1kilo=2.205lbs
http://www.bmw.com/_common/shared/jsp/download.jsp?file=/com/en/newvehicles/1series/1series/2004/_shared/pdf/1series_datasheet.pdf
http://www.bmw.com/_common/shared/jsp/download.jsp?file=/com/en/newvehicles/1series/1series/2004/_shared/pdf/1series_catalogue.pdf
chewy @ Jan 17th 2007 9:06PM
The only thing redeeming is the turbo I6. In base form, the VW Golf (Rabbit here) has beaten it in comparisons. The VW R32 has beaten the 130i in other comparisons, and the VW R32 was quicker around the track.
It is ugly, there is no back seat space.
But BMW wannabees will buy it for sure.
Dan @ Jan 17th 2007 9:14PM
chewy wrote: "The VW R32 has beaten the 130i in other comparisons, and the VW R32 was quicker around the track."
This is probably one of the examples you have in mind:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09s8eMLHIUM
johnnash @ Jan 17th 2007 9:30PM
Autoblog seems unusually enthusiastic about this news. Oh wait, yesterday you guys called it fugly... change in heart?
It has been stated time and time again, that the 1 series variants will be based on the next larger 1 series platform. On the E87 platform BMW only plans to build the 5 door and 3 door hatchbacks. The next gen platform will house 2 hatchbacks, a coupe, convertible... etc...
Look for a slightly larger, new car to debut in a few years. This only confirms what we already knew. That the 2 series was coming to the U.S. market... Whether or not that hatchbacks will make it across this side of the pond remains to be seen...
BMW videos @ Jan 17th 2007 9:43PM
I like it, this will give the Audi A3 and VW R32 a run for the money.
Robert @ Jan 17th 2007 9:48PM
Great news! I'm a bigger fan of the under appreciated Z3 Coupe assuming you can make due with a 2-seater. The t-t I-6 is a wonderful engine in a small, if pudgy package. I'm hopeful future iterations will smooth out the styling wrinkles. At the very least it's competition for VW/Audi and might prod them into rolling out their U.S. product while it's still new.
sofcor @ Jan 17th 2007 9:50PM
Audi A3? lol
130i here i come!
verdegrrl @ Jan 17th 2007 10:03PM
For anybody who needs to fit real humans in the back seat, pass on the 1 series - even the 4 door. Same if you need cargo space. I think the MINI has similar or larger cargo capacity. So it's essentially and ugly(er?) Z4. Why bother then?
Sales of paper bags will go through the roof! :-)
Robert @ Jan 17th 2007 10:22PM
Great, I think. I like the Mini and I like the A3, does BMW need to compete with there own product.
Rob
http://www.autoshortlist.com
cman @ Jan 17th 2007 10:27PM
I am buying one.
crey @ Jan 17th 2007 11:00PM
So BMW wants to be a mainstream brand now, can't wait to see these with body kits on it.
KazO @ Jan 17th 2007 11:28PM
Yes! The N54 in something with a hatch!
No! It's in the fugly E87.
What about this??? http://www.autoblog.com/2006/10/14/bmw-shooting-brake-in-2008/
Gerry @ Jan 17th 2007 11:34PM
It's good for my uncle. He's been wanting a sporty 335i (an M3 is out of the question), but not the $52,000 price tag he's seen it go for in LA dealerships. A 135i could be a reasonable alternative, if the weight is low and the price kept around $35,000. A cabrio is even better. (I just don't want to see the MSRP so high that a Z4 is a better purchase.) I, personally, don't like BMWs, but a smaller, lighter Bimmer is never a bad thing.