Photo: PCauto.com.cn/patent filing
BMW X1 has received a second generation this year, fitted with the new UKL front-wheel-drive platform. The car will also get an extended wheelbase version, but the latter will only be sold on the Chinese market.
The guys at PCAuto managed to get a full set of pictures of BMW’s patent application for the Chinese market. The car is expected to be launched on the world’s new largest car market by the middle of 2016 and will be available in both standard and long-wheelbase variants, the site reports.
The extended wheelbase has a set of longer rear doors and integrates the extra centimeters very well in its design. Just like in other markets, the BMW X1 will be available in China with several aesthetic packages, like the Sport Line, xLine and M Sport packages. The X1 isn’t the only BMW model to get an extended wheelbase version in China, such conversions being popular in the World’s largest car market.
The new variant of the X1 is expected to be called the X1 Li or X1 Ld, depending on the specified engine. The car is based on the same UKL platform as the 2-Series Active Tourer and the 2-Series Gran Tourer, as well as the new MINI range. The patent doesn’t specify whether the long wheelbase variant will receive the xDrive all-wheel-drive system, but this shouldn’t be a concern for the German company since it’s not a major wheelbase extension.
By the looks of the vehicle in the patent filing, we expect the LWB BMW X1 to be as long as the current X3 SUV. Along with the extended wheelbase version, the X1 is also expected to receive a special edition variant, part of a new line called the BMW 7 edition.
Like the LWB X1, the BMW 7 edition will only be sold in China and made with the German company’s domestic partner, Brilliance Auto Group. Last year, BMW’s Chinese partner ranked fifth among all Chinese vehicle manufacturers. Their partnership was signed in 2003.
The extended wheelbase has a set of longer rear doors and integrates the extra centimeters very well in its design. Just like in other markets, the BMW X1 will be available in China with several aesthetic packages, like the Sport Line, xLine and M Sport packages. The X1 isn’t the only BMW model to get an extended wheelbase version in China, such conversions being popular in the World’s largest car market.
The new variant of the X1 is expected to be called the X1 Li or X1 Ld, depending on the specified engine. The car is based on the same UKL platform as the 2-Series Active Tourer and the 2-Series Gran Tourer, as well as the new MINI range. The patent doesn’t specify whether the long wheelbase variant will receive the xDrive all-wheel-drive system, but this shouldn’t be a concern for the German company since it’s not a major wheelbase extension.
By the looks of the vehicle in the patent filing, we expect the LWB BMW X1 to be as long as the current X3 SUV. Along with the extended wheelbase version, the X1 is also expected to receive a special edition variant, part of a new line called the BMW 7 edition.
Like the LWB X1, the BMW 7 edition will only be sold in China and made with the German company’s domestic partner, Brilliance Auto Group. Last year, BMW’s Chinese partner ranked fifth among all Chinese vehicle manufacturers. Their partnership was signed in 2003.
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