You can hardly imagine it, but ten years ago the trend of ‘sporty coupe-like SUVs’ was nowhere near as big as it is now. BMW’s range even had one more: the X6. However, there were rumors that he would soon be joined by a more compact coupé brother.
When BMW was one of the first to come up with a sportier-drawn SUV in 2008 with a sharply sloping roofline, probably nobody expected that car to become a true trend a few years later. In 2020, almost every premium SUV has a coupe-like equivalent. On July 31, 2010, the first rumors surfaced about a sportier brother for the BMW X3, the smaller variant of the X6. According to rumors, BMW will come with this more compact X6 because the sale of that first coupé SUV goes well beyond expectations.
The rumors will be launched by the British AutoExpress at the end of July 2010. Although this turns out to be right, the magazine is still quite wrong ten years ago in various areas. For example, AutoExpress talks about an X4 that should become a four-seater with two separate rear seats instead of a full-fledged rear seat, and the newcomer should get a double tailgate. The British talk about the same tailgate as with the 5-series GT, which can be opened as both a sedan and a hatchback. However, the X4 cannot count on this in the end.
There is also talk of 2012 as a production year, but two years should really be added to that. BMW comes ‘only’ in 2014 with the first X4. The second generation was presented less than four years later. A full M version of the current X4 is even available. Up front that sporty SUV hums a 480 hp 3.0 six-in-line.