New BMW M2 xDrive, BMW iX4 and more accidentally confirmed by German giant
The names and details of new models coming this year have prematurely appeared on BMW USA’s website
It looks like someone at BMW got a bit overexcited about all the new stuff the firm is bringing out this year, because details of some top-secret models have appeared prematurely on the brand’s own North American website.
The most exciting news (particularly for petrolheads) is confirmation that an all-wheel-drive xDrive version of the BMW M2 is coming. It’s long been rumoured that the menacing baby sports coupé would be adopting all-wheel drive, as it has managed to remain the only model left in the M line-up to send all its power exclusively to the rear wheels.
Plus the regular BMW 2 Series coupé is already available with all-wheel drive (and customers can save more than £5,000 on one via the Auto Express Buy A Car service).
We assume the M2 xDrive will be available exclusively with an automatic transmission, but before purists start sharpening their pitchforks, the website suggests the rear-wheel-drive M2 is sticking around and hopefully should still feature a six-speed manual gearbox.
We expect both variants will feature the same 473bhp 3.0-litre straight-six engine, although the xDrive could get a touch more power to compensate for the extra weight of the all-wheel-drive system. We know this is possible thanks to the 532bhp M2 CS.
The brand’s blunder also accidentally confirmed the impending arrival of the first-ever BMW iX4 electric coupé-SUV – a car which we spied testing late last year, but the Bavarian manufacturer hasn’t spoken about or even hinted at yet.
The rakish sister car to the groundbreaking BMW iX3 SUV will share its Neue Klasse design language and next-generation technology, such as the revolutionary Panoramic iDrive interior. According to the brand’s website, they will feature the same 40 xDrive and 50 xDrive powertrains.
The latter uses a 108kWh battery that provides 500 miles of range in the SUV, but the coupé should go a bit further, while dual motors deliver 469bhp for 0-62mph in less than five seconds. The 40 xDrive set-up – which will be joining the iX3 line-up this year – will presumably offer slightly less range from a smaller battery, and have a bit less power, too.
The iX3 is also getting a single-motor 40 sDrive variant this year. This probably won’t offer close to the 500-mile range of the 50 xDrive – still the only version available to order at the moment – but it will lower the car’s starting price, which is currently close to £60,000.
The website also revealed the selection of combustion and electric powertrains that will be available at launch in the next-generation BMW 3 Series, due to be revealed very soon.
Kicking off the range will be a 330 and 330 xDrive, which we assume will use the same turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine as the outgoing model. Sitting above those will be the M350 xDrive, which will serve as the replacement for the M340, with the diet M3 likely to still feature turbocharged 3.0-litre straight-six power.
Meanwhile, the new all-electric BMW i3 is going to be offered in 40 xDrive and 50 xDrive guise. If this means it is also getting that colossal 108kWh battery it should be able to cover well over 500 miles on a single charge, trumping its key rival, the Tesla Model 3, which can ‘only’ cover up to 466 miles in one go.
The website also seems to suggest that the BMW i4 – the brand’s existing electric saloon – is going to be axed within the next year or so, which makes sense given the arrival of the most advanced i3.
Looking further up the food chain, the leak reaffirmed that the next-generation BMW X5 set to be revealed in a couple of months will be available with combustion, plug-in hybrid and electric powertrain options. It shows an entry-level 40 sDrive, followed by a 40 xDrive and 50e PHEV, while sitting at the top of the range will be the iX5 60.
Unfortunately, the website didn’t show any pictures of the new BMW 3 Series or BMW X5, instead displaying either error codes or pixelated car shapes. But it also did the same when we tried to look at the BMW 7 Series line-up, suggesting that the facelifted version of the executive limousine will be arriving soon as well.
That’s a lot of new stuff from BMW to be bringing out in one year, but it's just the start because the company is planning to launch no fewer than 40 new and updated models by 2027, which will share the radical Neue Klasse design language and cutting-edge technology seen on the iX3.
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