BMW‘s Neue Klasse platform will revolutionize the brand’s electrified lineup from the middle of this decade, but not every model is making the switch. Much like Porsche is doing with its Macan, BMW will offer two different X3s from 2025 onwards. One, the electric iX3, is expected to ride on the Neue Klasse platform, while the combustion (but in reality, hybrid) versions, including the new X3 M50i seen above, will stick with an updated version of today’s CLAR architecture.
This won’t be a simple facelift of the current six-year-old X3, though, because BMW will add welcome inches to the wheelbase to ensure buyers see the value in paying extra for the midsize SUV, and don’t settle for the newly enlarged X1 instead. In terms of design, however, the X1 and X3 will be very close, both featuring the same flush door handles, a window line that rises beyond the C-pillar, a hood that wraps over the top of the front fenders, and enlarged, square-shaped kidney grilles.
If that make it sound like the two cars will be almost impossible to tell apart, these pictures suggest there will be at least one key tell. On the X1 the DRLs are shaped like two letter ‘r’s, but the spy shots appear to show the X3’s DRLs curving below the main LED light unit, rather than above. And the X3’s Y-shaped rear lights will be far more distinctive than the X1’s.
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Our spy photographers managed to snap both the X3 M Performance version of the SUV (seen above), which we believe will be called M50i and hopefully still carry a six-cylinder drivetrain, as well as a non-M variant that was putting in hot laps at the Nurburgring. All versions are expected to get either mild-hybrid or PHEV powertrains, and while we can’t see the interior in these pictures, we know from previous encounters that the 2025 car will feature BMW’s one-piece dashboard display and a minimalist console-mounted gearshift toggle.
