It started with a wild rumor before a BMW official confirmed it in an interview with BMWBLOG earlier this year. The “i” letter at the end of the names of gas models is gradually being retired. Unveiled today, the 1 Series F70 leads the way, spearheading the significant change to the model designations. At launch, the compact hatchback will be offered in 120 and M135 flavors. That’s right– without the “i” that has historically stood for fuel injection. Two undisclosed additional gasoline models will join the lineup this fall, and those won’t have the “i” either. The “d” is staying, as seen in the 118d and 120d. BMW is also keeping the “e” for plug-in hybrids but the 1 Series still doesn’t have a PHEV option.
After the 1 Series, the next gasoline car from BMW to lose the “i” is going to be the new X3 (G45) debuting later this month. Look for the crossover’s M Performance variant to be renamed M50 to replace the current M40i. Before the end of 2024, the 2 Series Gran Coupe (F74) will break cover and follow the updated nomenclature. For now, the German luxury marque is implementing these changes in next-generation vehicles.
However, we’re already hearing the 7 Series LCI will also drop the letter. The G70 facelift is expected to go into production in mid-2026. We won’t be too surprised if, by the end of the decade, there won’t be any gasoline BMWs left with the “i” in their names.
The “i” is not going away completely since it’ll be exclusively used from now on for fully electric cars. Bernd Körber, Senior Vice President BMW Brand and Product Management, told us: “We would like to keep ‘i’ as an asset, and we would like to keep it as a signature to indicate you’re driving an electric car.” The F70 is the beginning of the end for the “i” and also marks the demise of the manual gearbox in the 1 Series.
Source: BMW
