Attached at the bottom, a new spy video shot on a rainy day in Germany provides a glimpse of the next-generation BMW X2 testing in Munich. If you’re wondering whether it has a combustion engine or not, we’re tempted to believe that it does. The exhaust is not immediately noticeable, but look closer and you’ll see the muffler underneath the rear bumper. In addition, it is mandatory for automakers to put stickers on their EV prototypes to denote they’re electric. We don’t see them here.
Now that we’ve established the test vehicle has an ICE, we should address the title used on YouTube for the spy video. No, this isn’t the X4 since the crossover’s shape is identical to previously spotted prototypes of the M35i. It also looks too small to be an X4, which for the next-generation model will allegedly be sold exclusively as a purely electric iX4.
Production of the first-gen X2 ended last year but it won’t be until near the end of 2023 that its replacement will hit the assembly line. Codenamed U10, the smallest of BMW’s Sports Activity Coupes (SAC) is believed to have a start of production date in November for both combustion engine and electric flavors.
It will take after the X4 in terms of design to do away with the raised hatchback silhouette of the first generation in favor of a sleeker coupe-styled profile. It should be bigger than its predecessor considering the mechanically related X1 (U11), which already has an electric version, is now 4.5 meters (177.1 inches) long. Both will receive the M Performance treatment with an M35i derivative making over 300 horsepower from a revised B48 engine.
On the inside, expect the 2024 X2 to be available from day one with BMW’s recently announced Operating System 9 running on Android Automotive. The X1 will be the first to get the next-gen infotainment system with newly built vehicles from the second quarter of this year. Lest we forget the conventionally styled crossover has lost the iDrive controller, so we won’t be surprised if it’ll be the same story with the X2.
If production is indeed starting in November, look for the official premiere to take place in late summer or early fall.
Source: DrGumoLunatic / YouTube
via Tingle Cars