BMW has a new X1 in the development room. This third generation of the X1 is now clearly visible from all angles for the first time.
The current second generation of BMW’s X1, which despite its name is not the smallest SUV-like of the brand, was launched in 2015 and the model is already ready for a successor. Not that five years is that old now, but BMW has recently tended to give its SUVs a fairly short career. For example, the previous generation X5 lasted only five years before being replaced by the current model. Today we have the first pictures of the new, third generation X1.
The current X1 is still a rear-wheel drive, but it is plausible that BMW will put the all-new X1 on a front-wheel drive basis, just like the 1-Series, 2-Series Gran Coupé and 2-Series Tourers. The new X1 also comes in a fully electric variant, a version that, like the electric versions of the X3 and the upcoming 4-series Gran Coupé, will receive an ‘i’ for its name. The electric iX1, dubbed X1, will, of course, be accompanied by a plug-in hybrid variant and a set of petrol and diesel versions, just like the X3 is currently already the case.
On the outside, the X1 is clearly an evolution of the SUV we know today. The car gets a decent fence in its muzzle, but the relatively vertically oriented grille as on the front of the 4-series and the stacked M3 does not seem to get the X1. Striking detail are the recessed door handles, extendable ones that will find a place on the new i4 and the upcoming iNext. We don’t expect the new X1 to hit the market next year.