BMW is going after the X1 in a big way — and the hot M35i looks set to change more than any other version. A camouflaged prototype has been caught on test with four exhaust tips, a fresh front end — and a very strong hint at a new name: X1 M40.
The update should land in the second half of 2027, with the car itself jumping straight into the 2028 model year. The styling is being pulled into BMW’s new Neue Klasse design language: a narrower grille, slimmer headlights, and a front bumper with horizontal cues borrowed from the latest iX3 and i3. The final headlights, judging by the mule, aren’t there yet.
The most intriguing detail sits in the lower air intakes — active shutters. At speed they close to cut drag, but they swing open when the radiator, brakes or climate system need cooling. At the back, the tail lamp shape is largely carried over, but the graphics change and the lower apron looks cleaner and more focused.
Under the hood, expect the familiar 2.0-liter B48 turbo four. The current North American X1 M35i puts down 312 hp and hits 60 mph in 5.2 seconds. To meet Euro 7, the engine will almost certainly be reworked, and a 48-volt mild-hybrid boost could finally make it onto this version too — the lesser X1s already get an extra 19 hp and 55 Nm out of it.
The loudest change happens inside. The familiar digital instrument cluster is gone — in its place sit Operating System X and Panoramic Vision, a black projection strip that runs almost the full width of the dashboard at the base of the windshield. The central touchscreen stays. The iDrive controller and the separate driver display, however, look like they’re leaving for good.
BMW isn’t just freshening the X1. It’s quietly rewriting the rules: ideas born on the new EVs are migrating to a petrol crossover that remains one of the most accessible tickets into the M Performance club. And this, it seems, is only the beginning.
