Back in the fall of 2013, a number of rather interesting reports from Germany started suggesting that BMW is not too happy with the recent success of the Audi A3 Sedan and the Mercedes-Benz CLA, and that the Bavarians are preparing a competitor of their own for the two aforementioned models.
Designated with an internal working codename of NES (New Entry-level Sedan), the model is not expected to hit the market before 2017 and it will apparently be Munich’s second ever front-wheel drive car – to the horror of old-school BMW fans and the pleasure of millennial BMW owners.
Even though it is yet to be officially confirmed, it seems that the car might be called the BMW 1 Series Sedan, as the future generation of the 1 Series is expected to switch to the front-wheel drive UKL platform that currently underpins the latest MINI and the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer.
There used to be a time when a front-wheel driven BMW was considered a sacrilege, but those days seem to be long gone now, all in the quest for more sales and profit for the Munich manufacturer.
Some three years before the 1 Series Sedan’s rumored debut (take it with a grain of salt), “automotive manipulator” Theophilus Chin decided to give a personal take at how the actual car might look, using a mélange of 2 Series and 3 Series design elements. The result looks far from tacky, albeit we think that it gives too much “RWD vibe” for a FWD car. What do you guys think?
By Alex Oagana
Renderings via Theophilus Chin
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