One of the coolest Euro-market Bimmers that we never got in North America was the 1 Series hatchback. Not the front-wheel drive current one, that could be mistaken for any other brand’s hatchback if it didn’t have Roundels on it. That one is a fine car but lacks any sort of real character. I’m talkin’ about the first-generation 1 Series hatchback because that was rear-wheel drive and a genuine little hooligan. Sadly, it was the only rear-wheel drive 1 Series hatch, as BMW switched to front-wheel drive with subsequent models. But the first-gen won’t be the only one for long, as BMW is making another rear-drive 1 Series hatch in 2028 but this time it’ll be electric.
According to Autocar, the next-gen 1er will have a similar duality as the new 3 Series and i3: there will be both an internal combustion version, and an electric one. The combustion car will be built on a familiar chassis, BMW’s UKL architecture. For those of you who speak BMW, yes, UKL is a front-wheel drive platform. However, the electric 1 Series will be built on the Neue Klasse architecture, which is rear-biased.
When the new 1 Series debuts, it could come in three or five-door variants, as BMW design boss cites the flexibility of the Neue Klasse, and EVs in general. “For a different size or proportion, you realise that’s not the big issue it was in the past. [With Neue Klasse] you can make a two-door, a three-door—that’s not an issue for a battery car.” Heilmer also said that its design won’t just be another cookie-cutter Neue Klasse model, and will have its own character. “The Neue Klasse form language doesn’t set boundaries,” he said. “It doesn’t mean just that curvature on a polyline; it’s more a mindset rather than a design cookbook.”
“Do you just replicate what you have in the IX3 and replicate them to other cars? The answer is no. Let’s make them more emotional and create different characters.”
Sadly, the 1 Series hatch isn’t likely to come to the United States. BMW is only making it to please some of its global markets, like Italy and France. “If you want to be a global player, you have to take care of markets where the share of 1 Series is extremely high,” said BMW product boss Bernd Körber. However, with the flexibility of Neue Klasse, and BMW’s willingness to experiment with interesting cars in the U.S., like the M5 Touring, the Bavarians could potentially be pursuaded to change their minds about it sometime in the future.
