Despite some faint hints at an X3M from BMW executives, the possibility of something like this happening to the current generation model is near zero.
Among the many reasons why we won’t see it is that the F25 has already been on the market for 5 years and has gone through its mid-cycle facelift, with a replacement scheduled for 2017 or 2018. Even if BMW‘s head-honchos wanted an X3M, it would make no sense to spend time and money for the development of a model with a 2 year lifespan.
What we will see for sure is a performance version of the related X4 wearing the M40i moniker and possibly the upcoming M2 Coupe’s N55 3.0-liter turbo’d inline-six delivering between 360 and 380 horses to all-four wheels through an eight-speed automatic. We’ve actually spied this model testing.
While we haven’t heard anything official or unofficial, we wouldn’t rule out the possibility of BMW offering an M40i version of the X3 as well, since the two SUVs hide the same underpinnings under their different clothes – but that’s the closest the F25 X3 could get to an M model.
Nevertheless, if you want to see what an F25 X3M could have looked like, TopSpeed artist David Kiss has prepared this rendering.
Rendering courtesy of TopSpeed
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