Photo: SB-Medien
Once it goes into production, there are ways to tell an M Sport car from an M Performance one. But with this test prototype, we're only 95% sure that it's the 2019 BMW X4 M40i and not the X4 with the M Sport package.
The air intakes are getting in the way of a clean diagnosis. If this is an M Performance model, why are both the side scoops fake? But maybe the 3-liter engine doesn't need that much air.
Silver mirror caps, big wheels, and blue brake calipers tell us this X4 is ready to party. We also notice the two large exhaust tips, one on each side of the car. With the current X4, you only get them like that if you buy the M40i, so we're probably on the right track. That X3 M40i prototype we saw in April also had this sexy exhaust setup.
If that is indeed the case, this Sports Activity Coupe is powered by a B58 engine, almost certainly paired to an xDrive system and standard ZF-sourced 8-speed automatic.
M Performance cars are a relatively new thing, but they have built quite a name for themselves. There's the creamy-smooth M140i hot hatch, the M760Li which is the most powerful Bimmer around, and of course the iconic X5/X6 M50d with their tri-turbo engines.
But it's high time BMW stopped playing around and started giving the hardcore X4 M a shot. Mercedes-AMG is doing whatever it wants with the market, since the GLC 63 Coupe is a V8-powered uncontested champion of speed.
Sure, 370 horsepower is technically enough for a performance SUV. But 400 horsepower hot hatchbacks and 600 horsepower wagons are grabbing all the headlines.
The G02 BMW X4 will certainly have an M40i version, along with an array of other four- and six-cylinder powertrains. Look for a debut in spring 2018.
Silver mirror caps, big wheels, and blue brake calipers tell us this X4 is ready to party. We also notice the two large exhaust tips, one on each side of the car. With the current X4, you only get them like that if you buy the M40i, so we're probably on the right track. That X3 M40i prototype we saw in April also had this sexy exhaust setup.
If that is indeed the case, this Sports Activity Coupe is powered by a B58 engine, almost certainly paired to an xDrive system and standard ZF-sourced 8-speed automatic.
M Performance cars are a relatively new thing, but they have built quite a name for themselves. There's the creamy-smooth M140i hot hatch, the M760Li which is the most powerful Bimmer around, and of course the iconic X5/X6 M50d with their tri-turbo engines.
But it's high time BMW stopped playing around and started giving the hardcore X4 M a shot. Mercedes-AMG is doing whatever it wants with the market, since the GLC 63 Coupe is a V8-powered uncontested champion of speed.
Sure, 370 horsepower is technically enough for a performance SUV. But 400 horsepower hot hatchbacks and 600 horsepower wagons are grabbing all the headlines.
The G02 BMW X4 will certainly have an M40i version, along with an array of other four- and six-cylinder powertrains. Look for a debut in spring 2018.
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