The subsequent-generation BMW X1 has been noticed but once more in prototype kind, this time boasting decals that reveal its electrified underpinnings. On this case, it seems we’re taking a look at a plug-in.
Because of the in depth camouflage on these improvement automobiles, there aren’t actually any new clues as to BMW’s styling route for the subsequent iteration of its child crossover, however we will at the least see that the X1’s silhouette will likely be largely unchanged. And sure, it seems to be getting a nostril job, however at the least it would not look like as dramatic because the rhinoplasty carried out on the 2021 BMW 4 Sequence.
It is a respectable disguise, however between the aforementioned decals and the seen charging level on the entrance fender, we will inform this can be a plug-in mannequin and never merely a standard hybrid. That is additional confirmed by the truth that we have already seen the gasoline filler door within the common spot on a beforehand noticed prototype. We count on that powertrain to be provided alongside a turbocharged three- or four-cylinder gasoline engine and an all-electric iX1.
The present mannequin shares its platform and engines with the Mini Countryman, and we count on that can proceed with the subsequent era, and if that is setting off alarm bells in your head, sure, there’s precedent for plug-in variants on this platform.
For the reason that X1 simply bought an replace for 2020, it is going to most likely be at the least a yr or two earlier than we see the brand new mannequin enter manufacturing. If you happen to’re hoping to attain a PHEV X1 in 2021, we might advise tempering these expectations, particularly since BMW’s new electrified mannequin rollout seems to be falling a bit behind our preliminary expectations.
