We've caught the new upcoming 2012 1-Series hatch every which way imaginable, but now the car has finished its winter testing and entered Nurburgring testing. This is a critical point on the path for any BMW towards production. In fact, the new 5-door hatch is rumored to be revealed online this spring, 2011, with its first public showing at the Frankfurt autoshow this fall, so I'm sure things are in high gear with the 1-Series development team.
This particular vehicle is the 5-door hatchback variant, which is the basis model of the 1-Series, and just as in the previous generation vehicle,
this model will not make its way onto US shores. However, this car will serve as the basis for the entire 1-series lineup, with a 3-door hatch variant (also not expected in the US) and a coupe variant expect to come in within 12-16 months after the initial debut of this one. For US 1-Series Coupe owners, you can set your clocks to T-minus 1.5 years from now for the replacement to arrive. An ///M variant, is a sure bet, as BMW have staked a big claim on the current ///1M, so expect a 1M model to arrive in the next 1-Series Coupe shell.
This new model borrows heavily from the current BMW geneology, with the sculpted hood and body swages that debuted on the F01 7-Series, and were further refined on the F10 5-Series. This design language is peaking under Adrian van Hooydonk's leadership and should provide for a sporty/upscale mix to the 1-Series.
Most notable, is BMWs return to the shark grill-- that is the forward leaning front grill that was a trademark for the brand in the '70s and '80s. Its a step by step process, but you can see it making its way onto the new
F12/13 6-Series has this grill, and if you look closely at our cropped pictures below, you can clearly see the forward leaning grill on this car as well. The car also now sits on some more production friendly wheels, and looks a whole hell of a lot better then it did in prior spy photos, all in all the car is really coming together. This car will be MEAN looking. Looking forward to that reveal......!
