http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-c ... anned-2017
BMW bosses have given the go-ahead to a new sporting crossover to be sold under the X2 name, sources have confirmed.
Set to be positioned between the upcoming second-generation X1 and the current X3, the new five-door liftback is set to go on sale in the UK during the second half of 2017.
Its debut will follow a two-and-a-half-year development programme that BMW insiders say is already under way at the company’s research and development centre in Munich.
The first road-going prototypes of the new BMW are set to hit the road within weeks, according to engineers at the firm’s prototype workshop. “We’re finalising the first prototypes now,” said a source. “They should be in action by the end of the month.”
The X2 has been conceived around BMW’s UKL platform structure, which it shares with the new X1 and other recent new BMW models, including the 2 Series Active Tourer and 2 Series Gran Tourer.
As with the second-generation X1, BMW’s new Range Rover Evoque rival is planned to be sold exclusively with transverse three-cylinder and four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines, along with the choice of either front-wheel drive or four-wheel drive.
The engines will include both three and four-cylinder units. They will include a powered-up version of BMW’s new B48 engine, which made its debut in the 2 Series ActiveTourer, in a planned M Performance variant of the X2 scheduled for launch in 2018.
In standard guise the B48 makes 228bhp, although that is set to rise to somewhere in the region of 300bhp with changes to the induction system and other tweaks, in a move that is set to elevate the performance of the range-topping X2 to a level comparable with that of the Audi RS Q3.
Taking cues from the larger X4 and X6, the X2 will feature four conventional doors and a steeply raked liftback-style tailgate. The interior is expected to be largely shared with the new X1.
The design of the X2 is set to be previewed in concept car guise, possibly as early as next year’s Geneva motor show, according to BMW insiders.
Secondo la rivista autocar BMW avrebbe già approvato la X2, cioè una X1 più bassa e filante.
Al prossimo salone di Ginevra dovrebbe esserci una concept.