BMW India, the domestic arm of German luxury car maker, is working towards the launch of its much hyped 1 Series premium hatchback. Sources close to the development process revealed that the model will be introduced in the first week of September 2013 in the Indian auto market. Reportedly, BMW 1 Series will be the lowest priced model in the Indian portfolio f German car maker, which will surely help it to cater the a much wider audience. Also, the company is looking forward towards assembling its premium hatchback at its Chennai plant. This move can prove beneficial as its counterpart Mercedes-Benz has adopted the Completely Built Unit (CBU) route with its A-Class model in the Indian market.
It must be noted that the 1 Series model is the smallest passenger car offered by BMW all over the world. However, on comparing it with the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, it can be said that the upcoming model does not feature very sporty looks. Yet, the BMW 1 Series feature the new designing language of BMW, which has been recently seen in the 6-Series Gran Coupe and the 3, 5 and 7 Series sedans.
Speaking of technical configuration of the model, the BMW 1 Series is expected to offer an option of either petrol or diesel engines. In petrol line-up, the German company is likely to offer the middle range 116i, which will feature a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine, belting out a peak power of 134 bhp and up to 220 Nm of torque. It must be noted that this engine has been co-developed by BMW and Peugeot. On the other hand, the diesel variant will be assimilated with a 1995 cc powertrain, delivering 141 bhp of peak power and 320 Nm of highest torque.
