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Since the year 2004, the German automobile maker BMW has manufactured a small luxury / family vehicle known as the BMW 1 Series. It was initially designed as a competitor against the Volkswagen Golf and the Audi A3. The BMW 1 Series is the only vehicle in its class to feature a longitudinally mounted engine as well as rear wheel drive.
The BMW 1 Series vehicle was first offered to the market in the year 2004 in the form of a five door hatchback. It is known for being the only vehicle in its class with rear wheel drive. It served as a replacement for the BMW 3 Series Compact. It is the smallest and most affordable vehicle in the entire BMW range.
The BMW 1 Series is built on its own platform, the E87. It shares some components with the E90 3 Series of BMW cars. These include a trapezoidal link rear axle as well as MacPherson struts.
BMW has officially stated that the 1 Series shares sixty percent of its components with the current BMW 3 Series E90. The BMW 1 Series vehicle is built in Leipzig and Regensburg, Germany. Some of its parts are manufactured in a factory in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
In the summer of 2007, it was announced by BMW that they would be releasing a new 1 series Coupe. The Coupe is slated to become available in the European Union in the autumn months of 2007. Three engine specifications will be available for this 2008 Series 1 Coupe: the traditional 120d, as well as two new bi-turbo engines - the 240 hp 123d and the 306 hp 135i.
The new Series 1 Coupe has been announced in the United States of America and Canada as a 2008 model. With a code name of E82, this vehicle will be the very first 1 Series ever to be sold in the United States of America. It will be sold in two versions: the 128i and the 135i.
The former will come powered by a 3.0 L, 230 hp inline six cylinder engine. The latter will feature a 300 hp, twin turbocharged 3.0 liter inline six cylinder engine. Both of these engine models are also found on 3 series models 335i and 328i. A lot of BMW enthusiasts have expressed anger that only the coupe version of the Series 1 will be made available in the United States of America and Canada. There will also be no diesel option available for the American market.
As a means of reducing fuel consumption, the 2008 Series 1 Coupe will feature Efficient Dynamics components. The Coupe version of the vehicle is somewhat longer than the hatch. It features about twenty extra liters of boot space.
The Series 1 Coupe is considered to be a replacement vehicle for the BMW New Class. It uses the same nose design as the other vehicles in the 1 Series as a means of maintaining consistency within the range. The Series 1 Coupe will be priced around $8,000 less than the Series 3 Coupes.