The main reason for the switch from rear-wheel drive to front-wheel is to improve the amount of space available to passengers. BMW said that despite being roughly as long as its predecessor at 4.32 metres, the car offers more space inside on all seats.
After five long years of development, the German carmaker has earmarked June 25 to 27 for the F40's official unveiling at BMW Welt in Munich, Germany.
This will be followed by its international debut during the upcoming IAA event in Frankfurt am Main on Sept 28.
In comparison to the second generation (F20/21) the new 1 Series has a wheelbase of 2,670mm (-20mm) and measures in at 4,319mm-long (-5mm), 1,799mm-wide (+34mm) and 1,434mm-tall (+13mm).
Both front and rear track are an even 1,565mm while ground clearance stands at 153mm.
Externally, it features larger kidney grilles on the sporty single-frame bumper which are flanked by more slanted headlight housings (optional - LED headlights) and the rear LED light clusters are now much more slender.
Inside, the cabin is provided with a newly designed instrument panel, backlit trim strips fully-digital instrument cluster with BMW Operating System 7.0 (optional - BMW Live Cockpit Professional).
Also included are heads-up display, BMW intelligent Personal Assistant, BMW Gesture Control and an optional Digital Key which allows the vehicle to be locked and unlocked via a smartphone as well as allow the engine to start once the smartphone is placed in the dedicated tray.
Rear-seated passengers now benefit from 33mm of added knee room as well as larger rear doors for easier ingress and egress.
In total, there will be four equipment lines available, starting with Advantage, Sport Line, Luxury Line and M Sport.
The F40 is made available in five variants - two of which are petrol powered and the rest are oil-burners with an all-wheel-drive option for both fuel options.
The variants include the 118i, M135i xDrive, 116d, 118d and 120d xDrive.
The 118i is powered by a 1,499cc turbocharged three-cylinder engine - fed by a 42-litre fuel tank, that is able to produce 140hp from 4,200 to 6,500rpm and 220Nm of torque from 1,480 to 4,600rpm.
Depending on market, it will have either a six-speed manual or a seven-speed Steptronic dual-clutch transmission married to the 1.5-litre powerplant that can accept a minimum of RON91 and uses 5.0 to 5.7 litres per 100km on the combined cycle.
The 118i is able to sprint from 0 to 100kph in 8.5 seconds before reaching a top speed of 213kph with a rather impressive 0.26Cd drag coefficient.
Behind the 60:40 split rear backrests (optional - 40:20:40 split) is a 380-litre (+20 litres) boot that's expandable to 1,200 litres.
It comes with BMW EfficientDynamics standard features, such as brake energy regeneration with recuperation display, electric power steering, auto start-stop function, optimum shift indicator, ECO PRO mode with coasting function (with automatic transmission), optimised aerodynamic attributes, active air flap control, on-demand operation of ancillary units, map-regulated oil pump, differential with optimised warm-up behaviour.
The 1,365kg (kerb) luxury compact rides on single-joint spring strut axle in lightweight aluminium-steel construction for the front and a multi-link axle in lightweight steel construction with separate spring and damper configuration for the rear.
An M Sport adaptive suspension is also available as an added cost option.
It rolls 16x7J-inch wheels with 205/55 series tyres that partially hide the front and rear single-piston floating callipers that bite down on the ventilated disc brakes.
Directional changes are handled by the Electric Power Steering (EPS) system with Servotronic function and there's an option to change out the standard steering wheel for a more sportier one from M Sport.
As standard, the 118i comes with driving stability systems such as dynamic stability control, anti-lock braking system, automatic stability control and dynamic traction control.
This also includes actuator contiguous wheel slip limitation, dynamic brake control, dry braking function, brake-fade compensation, Start-Off Assistant, electronic differential lock control, performance control and trailer stability control.
For added safety, there are six airbags, crash sensors and a tyre defect indicator.
The heavier M135i xDrive at 1,525kg, on the other hand, gets a more powerful 1,998cc turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 306hp from 4,500 to 6,250rpm and 450Nm of torque from 1,750 to 5,000rpm.
The 2.0-litre engine - requiring a minimum of RON95, gets fed by a larger 50-litre fuel tank with fuel economy rated from 6.8 to 7.1 litres per 100km on the combined cycle.
With an eight-speed Steptronic Sport transmission mated to the more powerful engine, 0 to 100kph sprint times drop to 4.8 seconds and top speed has been electronically limited to 250kph.
Other differences include a sportier M Sport electromechanical steering with Servotronic function, larger 18x8J lightweight alloys with 225/40 series tyres, narrow track widths at 1,560m (front) and 1,563mm (rear) as well as more drag at 0.34Cd.
As for the diesel variants, the 116d has the same drag coefficient, wheel and tyre combination, drag coefficient as well as front and rear track widths at the 118i.
The 116d's powerplant is a 1,496cc three-cylinder turbodiesel - fed by same 42-litre fuel tank found in the 116i, puts out 116hp from 2,250 to 4,000rpm and 270Nm of torque from 1,750 to 4,000rpm.
With either a six-speed manual or seven-speed Steptronic dual-clutch transmission, the 116d is able to sprint from 0 to 100kph in 10.3 seconds and onwards to a top speed of 200kph while fuel consumption is rated at 3.8 to 4.2 litres per 100km.
The 118d uses a 1,995cc four-cylinder turbodiesel engine, fed by 42-litre fuel tank as well, to provide 150hp from 2,500 to 4,000 and 350Nm of torque from 1,750 to 4,000rpm.
With the same transmission as the 118i and 116d, it gets from 0-100kph in 8.4 TO 8.5 seconds and has a top speed of 216 to 218kph and a fuel consumption rating of 4.1 to 4.4 litres per 100km on the combined cycle.
The 120d xDrive, on the other hand, has a front and rear track width of 1,561mm and a 0.27Cd drag coefficient.
Power comes from the same engine under the 18d's hood, only with a different tune and an upsized fuel 50-litre fuel tank to produce 190hp from 2,500 to 4,000rpm and 400Nm of torque from 1,750 to 4,000rpm.
The eight-speed automatic transmission manages power delivery to all four 17x7J lightweight alloy wheels with 225/45 series tyres to send it from 0 to 100kph in 7.0 seconds and onwards to a top speed of 230kph while consuming 4.5 to 4.7 litres per 100km on the combined cycle.
