BMW intends to make a big splash at the 85th Geneva International Motor Show, mainly with cars that probably won’t be available in the U.S.—at least not for a while, if ever.
The Geneva show runs from March 5 through 15, 2015 and is the first big European auto show of the year. BMW will take the opportunity to conduct two world premieres. First is the seven-seat BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer, and the next is the newly refreshed compact BMW 1 Series.
The M4 that is serving as the 2015 MotoGP Safety Car will also be on hand to display its horsepower-boosting and turbocharger-cooling water injection system.
The refreshed 1 Series will be premiered with its new front and rear designs. A new engine lineup will feature gasoline and diesel engines that lower both fuel consumption and emissions. For example, the BMW 116d EfficientDynamics Edition will get about 69 miles per gallon of diesel. That’s better than a lot of hybrids, and would make a terrific entry-level Bimmer, but on our side of the Atlantic, the 3 Series will continue to be our entry-level BMW.
The 2 Series Gran Tourer—not to be confused with the 2 Series Active Tourer—will make it’s debut at the Geneva show. Yes, it will have front-wheel drive, but it will also have three rows of seats that can accommodate seven human beings and still have room for cargo. It will make an excellent people mover for families mit kinder. Buyers of the 2 Series Gran Tourers—and by that we mean buyers who don’t live in the U.S.—can have their choice of five new turbocharged powerplants. They range from 116 horsepower to 192 horsepower and can achieve from 36 to 60 miles per gallon, depending on the version.
Also making a celebrity appearance at the Geneva show will be the 2015 M4 Safety Car for the MotoGP motorcycle world championship series. Besides its awesome paint job and safety gear, this M4 has water injection to boost power and reduce engine temperatures. BMW has promised that they will soon announce a production car with water injection available.
The BMW stand will also present demonstrations of more infotainment options. For example, the new myKidio app, which will only be available in Germany to start with, provides access to television shows, movies, audio books, and audio plays on tablet computers like the Apple iPad. Content can be accessed and selected from the iDrive controller and approved for use by the linked tablet, giving adults a way to keep their kids occupied in a constructive way. It will also help avoid the “are we there yet?” syndrome in the back seat, since the kids can access temperature, range, and most importantly, arrival time from their tablets.
We expect no earth-shattering BMW news from the Geneva show. As for the 1 Series, BMW enthusiasts in the U.S. seem to want it but can’t have it. The 2 Series Gran Tourer, on the other hand, looks like a car that BMW fans with families could appreciate, while the anti-front-wheel drive crowd probably would not. We haven’t heard a definitive decision from BMW on whether it will bring the 2 Series Gran Tourer to the U.S.—Scott Blazey
[Photos courtesy of BMW AG.]
