Is This The New BMW M140?

With petrol-powered hot hatches dying off left, right and centre, it’s easy to get a bit down in the dumps about the genre’s future. It certainly seems to still have some life in it, though, as it looks as if the upcoming fourth-generation BMW 1-series is going to get a hot M version, potentially named BMW M140, right off the bat.

Slated for a reveal later this year, the new 1 is expected to be a heavily revised version of the current model – enough of an update for it to likely get a new BMW chassis code. While the standard car will remain the entry point to the BMW range, it looks as if the M performance division is getting involved straight away.

A shadowy teaser image posted to M’s social media accounts simply comes with the caption “A new ONE is coming soon.” While the same image, showing the car in side profile, appears as part of a larger teaser on the main BMW account, the fact it’s being specifically posted by M suggests the new 1-series will launch with a range-topping performance version.

The image doesn’t give too much away – the fact that the new car is still a hatchback will surprise nobody, and if this is the M version, it looks like the performance enhancements will be visually subtle.

That gels with the performance versions of the current 1-series, the 261bhp, front-wheel drive 128ti and the 302bhp, four-wheel drive M135i. Both of those cars use the same B48 2.0-litre turbocharged four-pot, and we wouldn’t be at all surprised to see that engine carry over into the next hot 1-series.

That’s about all we know so far, although the new 1-series is also expected to be one of the first BMWs to shift away from the ‘i’ naming convention for petrol versions, so the hot version could simply be called M135, or possibly M140. We’ll know for sure when it gets a reveal later in the year.