After presenting the M135i Concept sports hatch at last month’s Geneva Motor Show, BMW is now concentrating on finishing the development of the production model that will arrive in European showrooms either at the end of this year or in early 2013.
If you exclude the patches of swirly camouflage on the car’s profile and the lack of the M Performance brand’s traditional tricolor stripes on the sides, nothing else has changed over the prototype model.
The production M135i is based on the soon to be revealed three-door hatchback body-style of the latest 1-Series adding an assortment of M aero parts such as the front bumper, side skirts amd a different rear bumper that accommodates an integrated diffuser and dark chrome-trimmed exhausts pipes.
Other parts worth mentioning include the mirror caps in Ferric Grey and side window surrounds in gloss black plus the new 18-inch alloy wheels.
BMW did not show the interior of the prototype but it’s no secret that the M135i will get the usual suite of M goods like bespoke upholstery and accent trim, plus sports seats and steering wheel and a modified instrument panel.
The M135i uses BMW’s N55 turbocharged 3.0-litre straight-six engine that will be good for over 300-horses. In a recent interview, BMW M boss Friedrich Nitschke confirmed that the hot Bavarian hatch will be offered in both rear-wheel and all-wheel drive versions along with the option of manual or automatic transmissions.
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