BMW to debut FWD 1-Series GT in Paris?

For numerous decades it was nearly impossible to imagine a front-wheel drive BMW. It was like trying to fathom a rear-drive Saab, or a rear-drive Citroën, it just couldn’t be done because it went against the brand’s core principles. Even as a vast majority of the auto industry progressively left rear-wheel drive behind, BMW stood its ground and refused to yield an inch.

Rivals Mercedes-Benz and Audi both offer front-wheel drive in their entry-level models and BMW has gained a fair share of expertise in the field with its highly-profitable MINI brand so it was only a matter of time before the Munich-based automaker caved in.

England’s Autocar reports that BMW is currently developing an all-new front-wheel drive model that will likely wear the name 1-Series GT. The magazine’s sources say that it will debut as a thinly-disguised concept at the Paris Motor Show next fall.

The 1-Series GT will ride on the same newly-developed UKL platform as the next-generation MINI hatchback. It will be taller than both the MINI and the standard rear-drive 1-Series and it will compete in the same arena as the Mercedes-Benz B-Class.

Powering the 1-Series GT’s front wheels will be an all-new 1.5-liter three-cylinder gasoline engine that is essentially a 3.0 straight-six that has been chopped in half. The car will also be available with four-cylinder gas engines as well as several turbodiesels, but don’t expect to see a performance-oriented M version of it.

Although purists will undoubtedly gawk at the idea of a front-wheel drive BMW, the 1-Series GT’s target audience is not expected to have an issue with the new layout. In fact, in a study conducted in 2010 BMW found that 80 percent of 1-Series owners were convinced that the car was front-wheel drive.