Photo: X-Tomi Design
While BMW officials denied the possibility of creating a front-wheel drive model wearing the M badge anytime soon fans of the brand just don’t want to hear about it. If Mercedes-Benz can do it, why not BMW?
Well, there are a couple of reasons behind such a decision, reasons that do seem a bit hypocritical to be perfectly honest. While the Bavarians have no trouble launching cars like the 2 Series Active Tourer and claiming that it has ‘unbelievable dynamic capabilities’ they also claim that an FWD layout wouldn’t be up to par with what an M car should offer in terms of handling.
Yes, we’d love to see a BMW X1 M, to be frank, especially if it looks anything like the rendering put together by the guys from X-Tomi Design because it looks absolutely incredible! But what would it take?
First of all, we’d need an extremely powerful 2-liter turbocharged petrol engine, like the M133 mill from AMG that is powering the CLA45 AMG, GLA45 AMG, and A45 AMG models. That’s a nasty piece of engineering that can make 360 HP and 450 Nm (332 lb-ft) of torque and it seems to be hailing from the darkest corners of Hell.
At the moment, the most powerful 2-liter mill BMW is making is the one from the brand new 330i model that will go on sale this summer. It makes 252 HP and 350 Nm (258 lb-ft) of torque, numbers that sound good but are not incredible in the grand scheme of things.
Of course, the M division wasn’t involved in their development and, considering that they created a 2.3-liter inline 4-cylinder mill that developed over 200 HP without forced induction in the 1980s, they probably have what it takes to build a 360+ HP engine.
Other than that, the X1 M would also need a revised suspension, brakes, steering and all the bits and pieces that make an M car the legend it should be. Last but not least, it needs all-wheel drive as front-wheel drive wouldn’t be enough.
Yes, we’d love to see a BMW X1 M, to be frank, especially if it looks anything like the rendering put together by the guys from X-Tomi Design because it looks absolutely incredible! But what would it take?
First of all, we’d need an extremely powerful 2-liter turbocharged petrol engine, like the M133 mill from AMG that is powering the CLA45 AMG, GLA45 AMG, and A45 AMG models. That’s a nasty piece of engineering that can make 360 HP and 450 Nm (332 lb-ft) of torque and it seems to be hailing from the darkest corners of Hell.
At the moment, the most powerful 2-liter mill BMW is making is the one from the brand new 330i model that will go on sale this summer. It makes 252 HP and 350 Nm (258 lb-ft) of torque, numbers that sound good but are not incredible in the grand scheme of things.
Of course, the M division wasn’t involved in their development and, considering that they created a 2.3-liter inline 4-cylinder mill that developed over 200 HP without forced induction in the 1980s, they probably have what it takes to build a 360+ HP engine.
Other than that, the X1 M would also need a revised suspension, brakes, steering and all the bits and pieces that make an M car the legend it should be. Last but not least, it needs all-wheel drive as front-wheel drive wouldn’t be enough.
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