Well, isn’t this an interesting surprise right after the LA Auto Show! Right after we were all done gorging ourselves on hors d’oeuvres and those little bottles of hotel room booze I think I can expense, BMW goes and drops a new concept compact sedan on the world. It’s called the Concept Compact Sedan!
Now, before you’re filled with daydreams of budget BMW rear-drive hoonage, there’s a few things to know. First, it’s just a concept, although BMW has a long history of bringing concepts to production with relatively few changes.
Second, the word on the street is BMW has wanted a competitor to the successful Mercedes-Benz CLA and Audi A3 sedans, since the 2 Series doesn’t really cut it in that department. There’s even been prototypes driving around. So more than likely this car is your next 1 Series, but there’s a good chance it could be front- or all-wheel drive.
BMW has taken to using the new FWD Mini platform on some of their own cars, most notably the new X1 and the Europe-only 2 Series Active Tourer. This sedan could easily follow suit there, with FWD or AWD and turbo four-cylinder engines.
But! That doesn’t mean it won’t be fun to drive if it sees production.And since it’s getting unveiled at Auto Guangzhou 2015, one of the largest car shows in China, along with much fanfare about what a big deal it could be in that market, I bet it will.
Is the world ready for a FWD BMW sedan? I’m sure the company’s sales numbers are.
Contact the author at patrick@jalopnik.com.