BMW heads Outdoor

The mountain-loving Bavarians at BMW have given the best hint yet that they will deliver an SUV version of its front-wheel drive 2015 mini-people-mover by unveiling the Compact Activity Tourer Outdoor.

Shown last night at the alpine Outdoor Freidrichsafen fair in Bavaria’s south, the concept is a plug-in hybrid version of the 2012 Compact Activity Tourer that BMW showed at last year’s Paris motor show.

Its plans are well advanced to turn the production version of the Compact Activity Tourer into the first front-drive BMW in history. If that doesn’t horrify BMW purists enough, BMW also plans a 5+2 seating arrangement to deliver a people-mover option for the car, which will sit between the 1 and 3 Series in price.

But the Compact Activity Tourer Outdoor has been developed to let BMW experiment in using the car’s capacious interior space and can comfortably fit two mountain bikes inside the passenger compartment.

BMW calls it a combination of a sports look, a compact exterior and a highly practical interior with an internal carrier system to let two bikes stand up inside while still comfortably carrying two people up front.

The Compact Activity Tourer Outdoor also hints at the low-emission future of the production version, borrowing powertrain ideas from the upcoming i8.

It combines a transverse-mounted 1.5-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine with the i8’s plug-in hybrid electric motor concept to deliver consumption figures of just 2.5 litres/100km on the NEDC combined cycle, which is the equivalent of less than 60g/km of CO2.

The Compact Activity Tourer Outdoor’s total system output is a healthy 140kW, while BMW insists the concept will reach 100km/h in less than eight seconds and reach a 200km/h top speed.

BMW calls the powertrain a preview of future drive systems for small BMWs and will be found in all front-drive BMW production body shapes as well as being suited to the next all-new MINI range.

The Compact Activity Tourer Outdoor can run on its 20-inch wheels with either pure petrol power or a combination of petrol and electric power and it also has the ability to run in a pure electric mode for up to 30km.

It sits on a 2670mm wheelbase and with an overall length of 4350mm, it’s only about 35cm longer than the upcoming i3 electric car.

It also delivers a higher driving position and a flat floor, thanks to its front-drive layout.

The Compact Activity Tourer Outdoor will run BMW’s traditional automatic, Comfort, EcoPro and EcoPro + modes to either maximize comfort or efficiency.

BMW has explained its motives for moving bicycles inside the cabin as a combination of keeping them dry and clean and protecting them from damage and theft. When it’s not in use, the bracket to hold the bikes folds flat into the floor.

BMW also suggests that the system is ideal for heavily trafficked urban areas, allowing drivers to park on the outskirts of city centres and simply riding a bicycle for the busiest part of the journey.

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