BMW will finally unveil in November the highly-awaited iNEXT / iX electric SUV. But in the mean time, BMW testing engineers continue to drive several prototypes on public roads to fully prepare it for a 2021 launch. The recent spy shots hail from Munich and were captured by Instagram user @joelre98. The spy shots reveal the proportions of the electric SUV and details, such as the aerodynamically shaped and flowing roofline.
The large kidney grille at the front has already been officially revealed in the Concept iNEXT, and they’re not going away. Behind and within the kidneys are a wide range of high-tech components which will supply the driving assistance system with plenty of data. While the iNEXT won’t be a fully automated driving machine, it will indeed have a more advanced autonomous driving mode than the current 7 Series, for example. The car promised a Level 4 autonomous driving system in the future, but our sources say that’s still far fetched. Furthermore, we’re hearing that Level 3 might also not be immediately available at market launch.
Same sources says that the legislature, which has not yet answered satisfactorily many legal questions in connection with self-driving cars, is once again proving to be one of the biggest hurdles for autonomous driving.
The rumormill churns out that there will be three variants of the high-tech electric crossover. The power range is rumored to vary from 300 to 600 horsepower. One of the three BMW iX models will also have a significant electric range measured on the WLTP cycle.
The entry level BMW iX will deliver 230kW (308 horsepower), the middle model around 390kW (522 horsepower), while the top iX will bring 455kW (610 horsepower) to the table. Clearly, the most important aspect of an electric vehicle is the electric range. And the BMW iX won’ disappoint. The electric range is rumored to span from around 400 km to over 600 km per full charge. These figures are measured on the WLTP cycle.
We believe that a numeric badge will follow the “iX” name, something along the lines of iX40, iX50 and iX60. The numbers simply indicate the more expensive model.
Pricing has yet to be revealed, but based on our own projections, comparable to the other BMW products, we anticipate the base iX40 model to start in the low 70,000 euros range and going all the way up to 120,000 euros.
[Source: BimmerToday]
