BMW reveals new concept

What's the news?
While most of our news is focusing on the Goodwood Festival of Speed this week, BMW is attending the rather more sedate OutDoor Friedrichshafen fair in Germany. It's bringing along a new version of the Concept Active Tourer to appeal to the sort of person that will be attending the event, but the Outdoor concept previews a whole new chapter in BMW's history.

Exterior
First up, the size. The Concept Active Tourer Outdoor measures at 4,350mm long, 1,833mm wide, 1,576mm high and it sits on a 2,670mm wheelbase. For reference, that's 26mm longer, 68mm wider and 155mm higher than the five-door BMW 1 Series, which has a wheelbase of 2,690mm. So this concept previews a compact MPV, in the vein of the Mercedes-Benz B-Class. Not that BMW will call it that of course.

And we don't believe the design is too far from production at this stage. The Gold Race Orange paintwork, stylised door mirrors and custom 20-inch alloys are unlikely to be standard, but otherwise this car looks ready for the road.

Interior
The Outdoor model's USP can be found by lifting the tailgate. Neatly integrated into the sidewall of the boot is a beautifully crafted bike carrier that swivels out of the car to make loading and unloading that bit easier. We'll gloss over the fact that it seems to house two rather slim-line bicycles only, and that the front wheels and saddles have to come off for storage elsewhere in the car. Oh, and if you do all that the BMW is a strict two-seater. Still, it has an especially comfortable looking seat integrated into the boot floor to accommodate your sore behind as you struggle with your cycling shoes and under that is a hidden cubby for things like a puncture repair kit. For the bikes, I might add.

At the time of writing, the images we have of the interior aren't too revealing, though we suspect the detailing is close to what you'll find in the BMW i3. Likewise the new switchgear and a digitally rendered set of instruments in front of the driver with custom views for the various driving modes.

Mechanicals
This is where we should all sit up and take notice, as the Concept Active Tourer Outdoor (can we just call it the CATO?) seems to preview the first ever front-wheel drive BMW. It's actually a plug-in hybrid, but the prime mover is a 1.5-litre petrol engine mounted transversely in front. No doubt that's BMW's advanced new turbocharged three-cylinder unit. It drives the front wheels, though is supplemented by a rear-mounted electric motor. This allows pure electric operation when required and can boost overall performance too. BMW calls the set-up 'eDrive' and reckons a zero emissions range of about 30 kilometres is realistic. The lithium-ion battery can be charged by plugging into a standard domestic electricity supply.

Total system power output is 190hp, allowing a 0-100km/h time of less than eight seconds and a top speed of 200km/h. On the NEDC combined cycle the Active Tourer is claimed to return 113mpg (2.5 litres/100km) and emit 60g/km of CO₂.

Anything else?
It wouldn't be a concept car if it didn't have its own app, now would it? And the Outdoor fair is the perfect place for BMW and the tourist board of the Austrian Tyrol to reveal its new 'Heart of the Alps' tour guide. This encompasses a bewildering array of tours and routes through the huge area, for drivers, cyclists and hikers and yes, of course there's a smartphone app...

We reckon BMW will reveal the production version of this car at the Frankfurt Motor Show this autumn, and we're guessing it'll be called the 1 Series Gran Turismo.

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