The cat's pretty much out of the bag here.
It was just yesterday when we shared what are believed to be leaked official photos of the BMW iX3 and today we bring a new batch of spy photos, showing work on the all-electric crossover is not done yet. What we have here is a lightly camouflaged prototype that is most likely very, very close to its final production form performing final evaluations.
Yesterday's leaked images showed the electric X3 will be very similar to the conventional versions of the premium SUV from Bavaria. Probably the biggest change between the two is the front fascia, where a closed kidney grille and a redesigned bumper come in place of the X3 layout we are used to.
© Motor1.com CopyrightBMW iX3 new spy photo
All the little details that were revealed with the leaked images are also visible on this test car despite the camouflage foil. These include the grille, front bumper with distinctive air openings, and even the modified side sills with blue accents. The trial car has its rear end disguised too, but we already know decorative blue accents will replace the tailpipes. Interestingly, BMW is not using aerodynamic wheels for this prototype but standard five twin-spoke alloys from the X3's current wheel options list.
Leaked And Spied:
As to what is under the hood, there's a 74-kilowatt-hour battery feeding a single electric motor making 286 horsepower (210 kilowatts) and 296 pound-feet (400 Newton-meters) of torque. This setup sends power exclusively to the rear wheels for an estimated range of 273 miles (440 kilometers) in Europe's WLTP test.
While the cat is pretty much out of the bag, we don't know the exact launch date of the new iX3. BMW has already made it clear it has no plans to bring the model to the U.S. market.
Photos: Automedia
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