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2018 BMW X3 World Premiere Set For June 26 At Spartanburg Plant

Operational since 1994, the Spartanburg factory in South Carolina is the place where BMW builds every sport utility vehicle ranging from the X3 to the X6. This summer, an all-new crossover will be added to the production line in the form of the third-generation X3 (G01).
2018 BMW X3 (G01) prototype 41 photos
Photo: BMW
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Penned by Australian designer Calvin Luk, the newcomer will show off what it’s made of on Monday. There’s even a live stream set up for BMW enthusiasts and anticipating customers, which will go online at 9:30 EST on June 26. So what can we expect from the X3 of the G01 variety?

For starters, it will be larger than the model it replaces in all aspects. The CLAR platform that serves as the skeleton for the X3, however, will see curb weight drop a little compared to the 2017 model year. A more optimized package than ever before, BMW has offered a glimpse of the X3 only recently, with the compact crossover testing in sub-zero weather.

According to a model code list, there will be plenty of powertrain options to choose from. In the United States, the G01 X3 will be offered in the following flavors: sDrive30i, xDrive30i, xDrive30d, xDrive30e iPerformance plug-in hybrid, and performance-oriented M40i xDrive. The latter will be the sportiest X3 available at launch, with an X3 M expected to hit the U.S. market sometime in 2018 for the 2019 model year.

Over in Europe, the entry-level choices are the sDrive18d and the sDrive20i. The former, as it’s the case with the 318d, will be propelled by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo diesel with 150 PS and 320 Nm to its name. A far more exciting oil-burning variant confirmed for Europe is the M40d.

The G01 will succeed F25 after the latter served BMW faithfully for almost 10 years. In markets such as China, the Bavarian automaker is expected to re-engineer the all-new X3 with a longer wheelbase, adding a third row of seats just for the hell of it.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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