BMW USA leaks M2 xDrive and M350 top-spec 3-series
A slip-up by BMW USA’s parts site has confirmed the imminent arrival of a number of new models
A list of new models we can expect to see from BMW over the course of the next year has been leaked by the company’s own online parts store in the US. The beans on everything from a new variant of the M2, to variants of the forthcoming new 3-series have been spilt.
Firstly the M2, which according to the leak, will receive an all-wheel drive xDrive variant over the coming 12 months in the US. Previously the M2 has only been a rear-driven concern, with xDrive reserved for its larger M3 and M4 CLAR platform-mates. This in spite of the second-step M240 being exclusively xDrive-equipped, even in the UK.
Enigmatic is a new variant of the combustion 3-series saloon that’s set to get a new name. A sub-M3 flagship, it’ll be called M350 xDrive, serving as a replacement for the current M340i. It’s expected to still feature a variant of the B58 turbocharged straight-six, that in the recently updated M240 outputs 387bhp and 398lb ft, up by 18bhp and 30lb ft. The logic behind the bump from 40 to 50 in the name is obviously not yet known. Then again, when it comes to German car manufacturer naming conventions, logic sometimes doesn’t come into it…
We know fairly well that the electric version of the next 3-series will be called i3, spawning an electric M3 eventually too. We now also know that it will debut in 40 xDrive and 50 xDrive forms – mid- and top-tier models. Given a rear-driven 30 sDrive variant of the iX3 has also been leaked, we can expect the i3 to receive such a rear-driven ‘entry’ variant in due course too. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it seems the i4 saloon will be discontinued in conjunction with the i3’s introduction.
A coupe variant of the iX3, the iX4, is also incoming. The leak also confirmed that a new-generation BMW X5, along with an iX5 electric variant, will launch very soon, in addition to a facelifted version of the current G70 7-series.
It must be reiterated that these leaks come from BMW’s operation across the Atlantic. As such, there’s no guarantee that any of them have definite UK relevance – the M2 xDrive for instance, may not be UK relevant. The 3-series and i3, though? These are the cornerstone models of BMW’s Neue Klasse rebirth, about which we’ll know much more very soon.
