Baby Bimmer: Coming 1 Series geared to be the first 'affordable' BMW

We’ve been telling you about BMW’s coming 1 Series for a few years; now you can take a look at the somewhat camouflaged sheetmetal for yourself.
When BMW showed its CS1 concept in Geneva in March (AW, March 18), the automotive world immediately recognized it for what it really was: the 1 Series prototype. Though the concept was a convertible, the real deal will come to market in 2004 initially as a five-door hatchback.

Geared to be the first “affordable” BMW since production of the 2002 model ended in 1977, the car will likely come with a 1.8-liter, 115-hp four-cylinder engine, some 3 Series hardware and a price tag around $26,000.

The idea, as BMW sees it, is to provide a practical BMW alternative to 7 Series owners who are looking for a second car. Sandwiched between the Mini and the 3 Series, the new rear-driver will compete with cars in the Volkswagen Golf-sized range—with cars characterized as “the upper segment of the lower middle-class,” BMW officials have said. Production could be as high as 150,000 to 200,000 per year.

Once the 1 Series hatch is running under its own power, look for other body variants as well as an M version powered by a 177-hp 2.0-liter engine, possibly called the Z2.






This looks better then the Z4 but it's hard to tell with all that cladding. 115hp engine is fine with me as long it the damn thing doesn't weigh 3100lbs! 2800lbs or less and we can talk about moving it into my crowded garage Of course it should be the M variant and hopefully with about 200hp instead of 177. ahhhhh memories of E30 M3