A BMW executive has confirmed the Munich-based automaker won’t build an M35i version of the current X1, although adds the next-generation model will indeed get an M Performance variant.
Of course, the X1 has only just been facelifted, with the updated model scheduled to arrive in South Africa in September 2019.
Speaking to CarAdvice, Brendan Michel, BMW Australia’s product and market planning chief, said there were no plans to drop the 225 kW/450 N.m 2,0-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine used by the X2 M35i and M135i into the recently refreshed X1.
“We won’t see M Performance in X1 until the next generation,” Michel told the publication.
“We’ve just announced [the facelift], so you’re looking at another three and a half years. We would love to have it,” he added.
That means an X1 wearing the M Performance badge won’t be offered until at least 2023…
