The new BMW X1 will be the first X1 ever to come with a fully electric version, but that is not the only novelty that can be attributed to the third generation of that SUV. It will also be the first X1 to come with an M Performance version!
BMW’s current generation X1 with its introduction year 2015 is currently one of the longest-running models of the brand. Big brother X3 is available as a fully electric iX3 and the new X1 also gets an electric i-variant: the iX1. At the other end of the spectrum, BMW is parking an M Performance variant for the first time. Not a real M, but a definitely not childish sporty version that probably listens to the name M35i.
Of the current generation X1, the 231 hp xDrive25i is the most powerful variant, a version that will soon have to tolerate an M Performance version. We aim for the new sporty top version for the X1 to bear the name M35i, just like with the X2. Count on a variant with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder petrol engine, a turbo block that produces 306 hp in the aforementioned X2 M35i and cars such as the M135i and M235i. Although the X1 is basically a front-wheel drive again, those more than 300 turbo horses are distributed over all four wheels in the X1 M35i.
BMW X1
Remarkably, the X1 on this new set of spy plates has different tailpipes than you would expect from an M Performance model. After all, the X2 M35i and M135i and M235i have a single thick exhaust pipe on either side of the rear bumper, while the test car in these photos has two exhaust tailpipes on each side. We expect BMW to present the new X1 in the first half of next year. The electric iX1 and the sportier M35i version will probably follow later. Once on the market, the X1 M35i xDrive can compete with the Mercedes-AMG GLA 35 4Matic, the GLA’s also 306 hp sub-topper.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl