When in doubt, just add another SUV – that seems to be the motto nowadays among automakers. According to a new and rather surprising report from Auto Bild, BMW is still planning to roll out an X8 as a coupe-styled derivative of the X7 fullsize luxury SUV. While most of us had thought that role has been attributed to the XM, the second dedicated M model in history after the M1, it would appear the Bavarians believe the two can peacefully coexist.
If the report is accurate, the X8 will be positioned above the company’s other coupe-SUV offerings, namely the X2, X4, and the X6. Auto Bild claims the official reveal is slated to take place as early as 2022, although we are quite skeptical considering we haven’t seen any prototypes so far. Spy photographers have spotted a large BMW SUV with a swoopy roofline, but those images depicted the XM set to enter production in Spartanburg from late 2022.
While the X7 retails from €93,100 at home in Germany, Auto Bild believes the sleeker X8 is going to carry a starting price of around €100,000. In the United States, BMW is asking $74,900 for the three-row SUV before any options, with the base model in both countries being the xDrive40i specification. Without going into details, the magazine suggests there will be three powertrains available upon launch.
Logic tells us a potential X8 would be built in Spartanburg where the X7 donor vehicle is assembled as the two would share the assembly line. However, with BMW USA already making the X3, X4, X5, X6, plus the incoming XM, time will tell whether the factory in South Carolina has enough production capacity available for yet another SUV.
We’d advise you to take the report with the proverbial pinch of salt, although an X8 with split headlights wouldn’t be a shocking addition to BMW’s growing portfolio. Meanwhile, the company will be diversifying its SUV portfolio in China next year with the addition of a long-wheelbase X5 Li to join the stretched X1 Li launched back in 2016 in the People’s Republic.
[Source: Auto Bild]
