2018 BMW X2 makes pre-launch public outing

BMW has let its yet-to-be launched X2 crossover out in public albeit under a heavy cloak that looks like Picasso’s interpretation of acute gastro.

The ‘Sports Activity Coupé’ isn’t even slated for an official launch date yet, but that didn’t stop its engineers taking it out into the outside world, albeit plastered with the gaudy camo that’s BMW says complements the urban jungle it’s designed for and represent the car’s ‘sporty flair’.

First revealed as a concept at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, the X2 is a coupe version of the X1 and will be to that car what the bigger X4 and X6 fastback SUVs are to the X3 and X5 respectively.

The official ‘spy shots’ show some similarities with the concept including swept-back roofline, pronounced shoulders, and front-end treatment that includes a prominent scoop under a largish representation of the BMW’s trademark kidney grille. Despite the camo, you can also see the way the narrowing rear windows round off at the D-pillar.

The X2 is built on the same transverse-engined UKL platform which also underpins the BMW 2 Active Tourer, Gran Tourer, the Chinese-market Sedan, and entire current Mini range.

BMW is yet to announce its drivetrain line-up, but it will be able to accommodate a range of engines including 1.5-litre three-cylinder and 2.0-litre four-cylinder TwinPower petrol and turbo-diesels.

A hot M Performance version is also on the cards, which is likely to score a heavily tuned version of the 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder petrol that powers the second-generation X1 25i, where it produces 170kW/350Nm.

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BMW Australia is yet to confirm when it will arrive here, but expect it to arrive some time before June 2018.

If the X1’s pricing is any guide, prices will probably kick off from about $55,000, assuming it cops the 10 percent premium that the X4 and X6 have over their boxier counterparts.