What's all this about?
Well, BMW has a glaring gap in its collections of X models.
You what?
Come on, work with us - you have X1, X3, X4, X5 and X6. So what's missing?
The X2?
Spot on. And here it is. This is our first official look at the newcomer, although admittedly it is covered in an eye-twisting yellow, grey and black camouflage that rather distorts the full impression of the production version. BMW rather unfortunately calls the X2 a Sports Activity Coupe (which, regrettably, abbreviates to SAC) and says it will be most at home in the 'urban jungle'. Which is why the camouflage is so bright and trendy for this official factory photoshoot.
Do we know anything else about the X2 yet?
Not much; it's all conjecture. As the X4 is the sporty X3, and the X6 the racier X5, then the X2 is basically a more rakish example of the X1. So expect it to use much the same turbocharged four-cylinder powerplants, with four-wheel drive on most models and a few front-wheel drive variants at the bottom of the range.
A punchy M Performance version with a beefy 2.0-litre petrol wouldn't be out of the question, either, presumably employing the 231hp unit as seen in the MINI John Cooper Works cars.
And what are the timescales for the X2 hitting the market?
BMW has to launch the all-new X3 first, but once that is out of the way, we should be seeing the X2 in showrooms some time in 2018. That means we'll get a full reveal of the SAC (sorry...) later this year.
Matt Robinson - 11 Aug 2017