Sneak peek: BMW’s next X3 breaks cover

BMW has commenced what will be a slow-release reveal campaign in Europe for its next-generation X3, which will go on sale in Australia early next year.

First official details and images of the entire vehicle will be revealed in late July, ahead of the all-new X3’s global public debut at the Paris motor show in September.

For now, however, BMW’s subsidiary in The Netherlands has unveiled teaser shots of the new model’s bonnet, tail-light and rear bumper on an official Dutch promotional micro-website.

Although the second-generation X3 compact SUV is expected on sale in Europe by October, BMW Australia has confirmed it will not go on sale here this year.

As we’ve reported, X3 production will shift from Leipzig, where the all-new X1 is now produced, to BMW’s Spartanburg plant in South Carolina – alongside the X5 and X6. North America remains BMW’s largest market both overall and for its X-badged SUV models.

Likely to be larger than the current X3, which is less than 100mm longer than the X1 overall, the new X3’s exterior was designed by Ulrich Ströhle and Erik Goplen, who also penned the exterior of the previous E46-generation 3 Series sedan, at BMW DesignWorks in the US.

Its interior, which is expected to be more luxurious than that of the original E83-series X3’s, was designed at BMW’s Munich headquarters in Germany.

European reports suggest the design of the new X3, which went on sale in Australia in June 2004, will be evolutionary rather than revolutionary due to the compact SUV’s success in Europe.

In Australia, the X3 – which is priced from $62,200 here as an auto - has achieved only mediocre popularity, with steady sales of 357 examples so far this year. In comparison, BMW’s larger and vastly more expensive X5 (from $86,635) is Australia’s top-selling luxury SUV, with 1017 sales to April accounting for a dominant 14.1 per cent share of the segment.

More importantly, the X3 has been comprehensively outsold by its most direct rival in Audi’s relatively new Q5, which so far this year has found 948 Aussie buyers and a 13.2 per cent share of the luxury SUV segment – well up on the X3’s five per cent.

Meantime, BMW’s newest X model, the X1, has attracted 247 sales in 2010, despite officially going on sale in April. It is priced from $43,500.

Said one BMW insider: “Typically, it (the new model) is recognisable as an X3, but it is underneath the surface where you will see and experience the changes.

“The whole second generation has come about by 'reverse engineering' the E83. We knew what the consumer liked and what they didn’t like so they set about refining the pluses whilst reworking and refining the minuses.”

Those minuses included a lack of perceived interior quality, tight rear legroom and an ungainly overall stance, while the new X3’s dynamics were honed at the Nurburgring.

“Overall when you get to see the whole X line-up altogether as you will soon, you will see how each demonstrate their own character, differ in dimensions and offer a choice for whatever your requirements need be.”

Beyond its bonnet and tail-lights, which appear to have been inspired by BMW’s new 5 Series sedan, no details of the new X3 have been revealed.

Sources suggest the new model will ride on a wheelbase of about 2900mm. While that’s significantly longer than the wheelbases of the X1 (2760mm) and current X3 (2795mm), it’s not much shorter than the 2933mm wheelbase that underpins both the second-generation X5 (launched here in April 2007) and the X6 ‘coupe-SUV’ (launched here in July 2008).

The current X3 is powered by 2.5 and 3.0-litre straight-six petrol and 2.0-litre four-cylinder and 3.0-litre straight-six turbo-diesel engines. In addition, its successor should also come with BMW’s new twin-turbo diesel four, which offers a substantial 400Nm of peak torque.

Globally, the success of the X6 is reported to have convinced BMW to also produce an X4, which is expected to share its platform with the new X3.

While BMW is tipped to dust off the 8 Series nameplate in 2012 with a top-end coupe previewed by the BMW Concept Gran Coupe at Beijing last month, the compact sports crossover should follow the X6, X1 and 5 Series GT as the latest new niche model from BMW.