We've been trying to avoid reporting on the rampant rumor mongering that seems to take place every month in some of the European buff books. One month you'll have tales of a new rear-engined V-Dub, while on the other end of the newsstand you can read all about the supposed new flagship from Skoda. Don't get us wrong, there are a few mags from across the pond that we devour, but some are the automotive equivalent of the Weekly World News. Autocar isn't one of them.

According to Winding Road, the UK pub reports that BMW is hard at work on a 1-series-based cute 'ute to take on the LR2s of the world, complete with four- or six-cylinder engines – petrol or diesel -- and likely sporting an X1 badge on the boot.

Proof that development is underway comes via a BMW employee that claims to have seen a Honda Element hanging around the R&D facility in Munich. As our friend Paukert points out, that isn't anything to get too excited about, until you understand that Honda doesn't sell that particular vehicle anywhere near Germany. It could be for research purposes or it could be because that particular engineer has a thing for toasters on wheels, regardless, we're sure to hear more as BMW expands into other niches.

[Source: Autocar via Winding Road]