When the next generation BMW X1 arrives sometime around 2015, it will be based on a front-wheel drive architecture, sharing its platform with the Mini Countryman. This isn't new news – stories and editorials have been parsing BMW's FWD strategy for more than a year, and in April of 2011, now-CEO Ian Robertson proclaimed there could be six to nine new BMW and Mini models as part of a "compact car family" based on a shared platform. A report in Autocar about the switch adds a few more details, though. In addition to the cost benefits from this arrangement, the next X1 will lose its six-cylinder engines but offer more room.
Autoblog , Next BMW X1 to share platform with Mini Countryman, Next BMW X1 to share platform with Mini Countryman
