New BMW Active Tourer Concept Previews the FWD 1-Series Gran Turismo [84 Photos & Videos]

These first official images of BMW's new Active Tourer Concept confirm our suspicions that the photo sourced from the cover of the next issue of Auto Bild magazine that we shared with you earlier today, did indeed show the real thing.

To answer the first question you are most likely to have about the Paris Motor Show-bound Active Tourer study, yes, it is intended for production - likely as a 1-Series model with the Gran Turismo moniker that is used by BMW on its more practical vehicles. One of its more direct rivals will be the Mercedes-Benz B-Class small MPV.

But that's not what makes the Active Tourer Concept really special, what does is its platform that will be shared with the next generation of Mini-branded cars and BMW's decision to break with tradition and enter the realm of front-wheel drive models.

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BMW , BMW 1-Series , BMW Concepts , BMW Videos , Concepts , Galleries , Hybrids , Paris Auto Show , Video

Is This Image of the BMW Active Sports Tourer Concept, aka the FWD 1-Series GT Real?

You can never be sure with magazine images of future models floating around the internet, but there's something real about this photo of what is described as the BMW Active Sports Tourer Concept and which is sourced from the cover of the next issue of Auto Bild that's due to come out on Friday, September 14.

The German magazine itself has issued a teaser of the upcoming issued but has darkened the car (see image below).

The vehicle pictured here is evidently a concept with the only fake feature we could find being the license plate – a common practice among car magazines in Europe to make readers think that the concept is a production model.

If real, the Active Sports Tourer Concept should be a thinly disguised version of the upcoming BMW 1-Series tall hatchback that may or may not sport the Gran Turismo nameplate when it enters production next year.

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BMW , BMW 1-Series , BMW Concepts , Concepts , Paris Auto Show

BMW Zagato Roadster Concept Burbles Along the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance Road

One of the most impressive cars to bow at the recent 2012 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California was the second concept model to come from BMW's partnership with Zagato.

You have likely already seen the pictures of the BMW Zagato Roadster, but YouTube user "BrianZuk" captured the open-top model on film at the famed California show.

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BMW , BMW Concepts , BMW Videos , Concepts , Concorso d'Eleganza , Video , Zagato , Zagato Concepts