The mid-life upgrade of the BMW 1 Series has been spied for the first time, caught testing in Germany with a lightly camouflaged front end.
Changes to this BMW 1 Series prototype are mainly confined to its nose, with our spy shots revealing a revised front spoiler with newly designed air intakes and a reshaped kidney grille.
While uncovered in the images, the headlights are also expected to receive some attention before the updated hatch is released to market, with a slightly narrower shape to encase a new light cluster.
The revised look, part of the 1 Series’ mid-life refresh or ‘LCI’ (Life Cycle Impulse) in BMW-speak, won’t reach local showrooms until 2015, meaning it will follow the arrival of its sleeker two-door sibling, the BMW 2 Series, due early next year.
Currently the BMW 1 Series, which starts at $35,600, is available with petrol and diesel four-cylinder engines, as well as the M135i’s 235kW/450Nm turbocharged 3.0-litre six-cylinder.
