Spied: BMW X3 M May Enter Production in 2018

The M-badged German compact SUV could use a six-cylinder engine

While the important news here is that the third-generation BMW X3 will make its debut in 2017, we are eager to see it in the M flavor. 

Just so you don’t get your hopes too high, the X3 M isn’t expected to come with a radically different design from what you’re used to, although it will be based on the third generation platform. Nevertheless, the X3 M would naturally inspire power thanks to a more muscular body and a six-cylinder engine making its voice heard via a quad exhaust. 

The X3 M (codenamed F97) is expected to make use of the S55 3.0-liter twin-turbo six-cylinder unit you now can find in the M3 and M4. Considering this engine’s flexibility when it comes to managing the power output, the X3 M may offer a lot more than the initial 425 hp

Although we’d like to see the compact SAV pushed to the Max, the scenario where this is just an M Performance equivalent to the X4 M40i is also plausible. The only thing that is confusing us is the six-cylinder gargle we hear in the spy video above.  

Image credit: Automedia