All-new BMW M135i hot hatch confirmed

The drip-feed reveal campaign for the third-generation BMW 1 Series continued today with confirmation the German brand’s smallest model will be topped by the new BMW M135i xDrive.

Due to make its world debut at the Frankfurt motor show in September before arriving in Australia by the end of this year, the all-wheel drive hot hatch will replace the much-loved and soon-to-depart M140i.

In the press release that accompanied these ‘spy’ images of a camouflaged BMW M135i undergoing dynamic testing at the company’s Miramas proving ground in southern France, BMW insisted the new 1 Series will deliver class-leading dynamics and be “a genuine BMW with an individual character”.

It said “the facility’s diverse handling tracks offer the optimal conditions for refining agility and dynamics of the new BMW 1 Series”, following “five years of intensive development work and the change to the modern BMW front-wheel drive architecture”.

“The new BMW 1 Series will set new standards in the premium compact class in terms of driving dynamics, whilst also offering significantly more space inside,” BMW went on to say.

“With a cutting edge suspension set-up, innovative technologies and the integration of all driving dynamics-related components and control systems, the BMW 1 Series achieves greater agility both with the new front-wheel drive and BMW xDrive intelligent four-wheel drive.”

Unless you’ve been living in la-la-land, you’ll know the next 1 Series is switching from a BMW-trademark rear-drive platform to a more traditional front-drive layout, as used by all of its rivals including the Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz A-Class.

In this case, the 2020 BMW 1 Series switches from a shorter, narrower version of the previous 3 Series rear-drive architecture to the newer FAAR front-drive platform -- a development of the UKL chassis that underpins all MINIs and the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer.

FAAR already resides under the BMW X1 and MINI Countryman, and the high-strength steel structure is claimed to increase interior space and reduce both manufacturing cost and complexity.

Indeed, despite its claim of claim of class-leading handling, BMW says its research shows customers of small luxury cars like the 1 Series value practicality and boot space more than driver involvement or cornering ability.

However, the advantages of moving from rear-drive to front-drive, which brings a more space-efficient transverse four-cylinder engine layout and lower centre tunnel, don’t appear to be all that significant based on the figures released today by BMW.

Claiming a “major leap forward in terms of interior spaciousness” (but only in the rear), BMW says the new 1 Series will offer 33mm more rear legroom and 19mm more rear headroom, plus 20 more litres of cargo capacity -- now 380L.

No weight figures were given, but the all-wheel drive M135i will be powered by the same 225kW/450Nm 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine as the BMW X2 M35i, which hits 100km/h in a claimed 4.9 seconds.

Whether the new BMW 1 Series range-topper is quicker than the outgoing M140i rear-driver -- which hits 100km/h in 4.6sec thanks to a 250kW/500Nm 3.0-litre inline turbo-six -- remains to be seen.

Either way, BMW is claiming big advances in front-drive chassis dynamics, in part thanks to ‘actuator contiguous wheel slip limitation’, or ARB, which will be standard across the 1 Series range and was first seen in the BMW i3s.

Effectively a traction control system fitted within the engine control unit rather than the electronic stability control unit, BMW says ARB improves traction “while facilitating significantly more sensitive and faster control” because it “passes on information three times faster, which translates to up to 10 times faster regulation speed perceived by the driver”.

BMW says the result is reduced power understeer, as seen in most front-drive vehicles, “but without control intervention to stabilise lateral dynamics”, thanks also to BMW Performance Control -- a brake intervention-based yaw moment distribution system that will also be standard.

Also helping to deliver class-leading dynamics, claims BMW, is increased torsional stiffness of the body structure via targeted use of additional struts, such as a standard rear-end ‘boomerang strut’.

“Through this extensive integration of all driving dynamics-related aspects as well as the new, innovative traction control feature, we are creating a completely novel driving experience,” said BMW 1 Series project manager Holger Stauch.

“Our customers will directly feel the fast and precise responsiveness that provides for an optimised driving experience. The BMW 1 Series will be a genuine BMW with an individual character,” said BMW Group head of Driving Dynamics, Peter Langen.