X is giving it to us again: BMW has green-lit production of the X2 crossover, slotted between the upcoming second-gen X1 and current X3.
The X2 is based upon the UKL platform underpinning the X1 and 2 Series Active and Gran tourers, Autocar reports. Power will come from three- and four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines, including a performance-oriented B48 engine for an M Performance variant of the crossover, with output expected to hit 300 horsepower. Front- and all-wheel drive will link the power to the road.
Styling is said to follow in the footsteps of the X4 and X6 — four doors and a slanted hatchback — while the interior will be shared with the second-gen X1.
The publication’s sources state the concept version of the X2 will make its global debut as early as next year’s Geneva Auto Show. Prototype testing is set to begin by the end of May. North American sales are not known as of this writing, though the United Kingdom will get theirs starting in H2 2017.
[Photo credit: Alex L. Dykes/The Truth About Cars]
[clears throat] Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhh. Why?
Hahaha, exactly – can’t wait for the X0.5
BMW thinks there is a market for it, UKL platform development costs are spread out further, it enables BMW to offer even more variety to their customers, etc.
Obviously they think there’s a market for it, otherwise they wouldn’t have green lit the model for production. I just don’t understand the slantback X-series vehicles.
This is just getting stupid, its becoming fifty shades of beige.
Well here we have the X1, over here we have X2 which is four inches longer, costs 15% more and comes with additional smug. There is the X3 which is four inches longer than the X2, has a premium smug package and costs 15% more. Now over here is the X5…
And if the X5 is too big, well there’s the X4, and if that is too tall, well here’s the 3series Gran Turismo, and if that is too ugly, the 4 series Gran Coupe…
Anyone silly enough to go into a BMW dealership is leaving with some car XD
Actually here is a serious question. We read it costs billions of dollars to spin up a platform and hundreds of millions to create a variant between production costs and USDOT certification. So how can BMW spin up so many variants of the same thing profitably if the domestics can’t?
I don’t think the variant costs are that high since they share so many of the expensive bits – drivetrain, basic body structure, interior, etc. They also don’t send all the variants to the US (only the ones predicted to sell well), so USDOT testing costs are not high if they are not done. Development costs are also shared globally since BMW sells big volumes in all the major auto markets, while Cadillac and Lincoln are non-existent in Europe and Japan, and considerably weaker in the US and China. The only way that Cadillac and Lincoln (and to some degree Lexus and Audi) can compete is to share platforms with the parent’s cheaper brands, which does not help prestige perceptions unless it is extremely well disguised.
+1 for the first reference DMX has had for years. Gotta go to youtube and kill an earworm now.
DMX best Pokemon trainer ever what!
The whole SUV craze is a bit mad consider what JLRs future line up is said to look like:
Land Rover Defender
Baby Land Rover Defender
Land Rover Defender Truck/ VAN
Land Rover Discovery
Land Rover Discovery Sport
Land Rover Discovery Coupe
Baby Discovery
Range Rover baby Evoque
Range Rover Evoque
Range Rover Grande Evoque
Range Rover Electric SUV
Range Rover Sport
Range Rover
Jaguar Fpace
Jaguar baby F pace
Jaguar XL f pace
How fun! Is the reveal concurrent with the annual Southern California Realtor’s Convention?
The X2 is a good start, but I’m definitely a buyer between an X2 and an X3…
…maybe BMW should build an X2.625?
What about those between X3 and X4? How about X3.14159265359?
and a pair of X0.5’s will fit neatly into the rear cargo area of the new X9…with room for your pug or lap dog.
For those who want to have their pi and eat it too, as it were.
Wow. Just… Wow. I suppose the next thing would be a M235i GT which is a slightly longer, lower X2.
Exactly. As a former fan of the marque, it hurts to see the death of a thousand cuts. How much further will they go in sub-dividing product categories?
As far as GM did I suppose except they’re doing it with one single brand…should be interesting to watch what happens to BMW over the next 5-10 years, will the cachet still be there or start to diminish since they’re so common and far less exclusive?
Common? Less exclusive?
Welcome to a decade ago.
I am waiting for the X235i GT s-Drive GranCoupe.
When have BMWs ever been uncommon or exclusive? Historically they weren’t even that expensive for most of what they actually sold.
As long as they keep building the occasional car that I find interesting and worth buying, I will keep buying them. I have zero interest in anything BMW with an X in the name anyway.
Look, I’m a huge BMW fan…have been since I was about 5 and we moved into a house off-base in Karlsruhe, Germany where our landlord always (and I mean ALWAYS) drove a white, four-door BMW (the last time I saw him before he passed he had a trusty old E36…white, four-door, manual). I’d dearly, dearly love a cloth interior, manual and “less is more” electronic doo-dad three series (which will never, ever happen in the US). But this mass-proliferation of incremental variants is driving me NUTS! Heck, soon you won’t be able to tell an X1 from a 3 series GT from an X2. It’s hard enough from 25 feet to tell a X3 from and X1, for goodness sake. Stop the insanity!
Yeah, ever since the ’90s I was a BMW fan who fell in love with the E38, E39 and E46. Now, 15 years later, I’m a huge fan of… the E38, E39 and E46. And I guess the F22 too.
BMW makes too many cars now, at this point I wouldn’t be surprised if BMW launched a 6×6 7 series or a 3 cylinder Smart wannabe.
And yet 90% of BMWs I see roaming the streets are still 3-series, so clearly the insane panacea of variations isn’t really selling around here.
What seems to get missed is that even if the “in-between” variants don’t sell in huge numbers, they sell at HUGE profits. They cost next to nothing to develop, cost next to nothing extra to actually build, and sell for 15-20% more.
BMW is laughing all the way to the bank.
I am so looking forward to the the BMW X9. It going to be much better than the X8 despite the X8.3 update. Maybe I should just wait until the X9.4 or the long rumoured X11 which is apparently based on the Series 13
Honestly I can’t keep up with all of the latest models, in my view BMW haven’t made anything decent since the M Series 7 door Gran Coupe Convertible Shooting Brake.
How about a Z2 instead?
It’s up to BMW to choose what variants they want to build. Who cares about their seemingly STRONG desire to fill every niche?
I care that the next X1 won’t have RWD or a manual trans, but I guess most buyers just don’t, because more and more keep laying down their money.
Who started the war on choices? I guess if they only sold three models a 3, 5 and 7 series everyone would be OK with that and praising them for sticking to their roots or whatever. If you go to the website and click on vehicles it’s really not that confusing. People shop for a type of car, then hone in on the brand offerings in that category, this is when choices are a good thing.