BMW will start deliveries of its first
all-electric SUV, the iX3, late this year but chances are the compact model
won’t make that much of an impact. There are two reasons for that: it won’t
offer an AWD variant and it won’t be sold in North America, the top market
worldwide when it comes to SUV sales. Think of the iX3 as a warm up for BMW i’s
first standalone electric SUV, the iNext.
Rumored to be marketed as the iX or iX5,
the iNext will go on sale next year to rival similar models like the Tesla
Model Y, Mercedes-Benz EQC, Audi e-tron, Ford Mustang Mach-E, and Jaguar
I-Pace. Since it wears a BMW badge, it needs to have some of the brand’s
sporting pedigree which explains why the automaker has recently taken an iNext
prototype to the Nürburgring. It’s the first time the EV was spotted on the
Green Hell and it doesn’t look more out of place than other SUVs – quite the
contrary, the body roll appears to be minimal.
While the iNext is fully camouflaged, we
can spot some details such as the sleek headlights, sporty bumpers, big wheels,
frameless windows and flush door handles similar to the i4. The taillights are
completely covered, as are the kidney grilles which will be massive. We don’t
get a look inside the iNext but previous spy shots have shown a huge curved
touchscreen display which controls the entertainment system, augmented
navigation, and climate functions.
The BMW iNext will feature the automaker’s
fifth-generation eDrive system which is tipped to offer up to 530 horsepower
and a high-density, lightweight 80-kWh battery pack good for a range of around 640 km. Factor in the e-AWD system and the electric SUV
should do 0-96 km/h in under 4 seconds.
