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Spyshots: Hardly Camouflaged 2018 BMW X2 Has Four Blue-and-White Roundels

A short glance at the most recent spy photos of the 2018 BMW X2 will make at least two questions pop into your head.
2018 BMW X2 13 photos
Photo: CarPix
2018 BMW X22018 BMW X22018 BMW X22018 BMW X22018 BMW X22018 BMW X22018 BMW X22018 BMW X22018 BMW X22018 BMW X22018 BMW X22018 BMW X2
First of all, why have BMW engineers gone through all the trouble of camouflaging only the surrounding bits of the kidney grille, the taillights and the vertical spoilers on each side of the rear hatch? It's not like people will fail to realize that this “camouflaged” prototype is a BMW. Heck, even the blue and white roundels are free of camo.

Second of all, and somewhat related to the first question, isn't it a bit strange that the upcoming X2 seems to sport no less than four BMW badges on the exterior?

Only the Giugiaro-penned BMW M1, which had three blue-and-white roundels adorning its wedge-shaped body, and pretty much all BMW roadsters from the 507 onwards had more than two emblems.

The new X2 is apparently set to follow the multiple BMW badges lineage, probably in a bid to upsell its sporty credentials. Unlike the roadsters, the compact crossovers will wear the extra emblems on its C-pillars, just like the BMW New Class Coupes from the 1960s and 70s.

Based on the same UKL2 platform as the BMW X1 F48, the 2 Series Active Tourer and Gran Tourer and almost every MINI in the current lineup, the 2018 X2 will go head-to-head with the Mercedes-Benz GLA.

Its MINI-sourced architecture means that we're looking at an FWD-based car with transverse engines that have a minimum of three and a maximum of four cylinders.

Turbocharged gasoline, diesel, and even a plug-in hybrid powerplant are expected to comprise the lineup after it goes on sale in early 2018, and an M Performance version isn't out of the question either. Since Mercedes-AMG has the GLA 45 and Audi Sport has the RS Q3, we should probably expect an X2 M at some point also, but nothing has been officially confirmed as of yet.

Either way, the production version looks to be at least 95 percent identical to the concept car that previewed it last year, at the 2016 Paris Motor Show. Its official launch should happen in the upcoming weeks.
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About the author: Alex Oagana
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Alex handled his first real steering wheel at the age of five (on a field) and started practicing "Scandinavian Flicks" at 14 (on non-public gravel roads). Following his time at the University of Journalism, he landed his first real job at the local franchise of Top Gear magazine a few years before Mircea (Panait). Not long after, Alex entered the New Media realm with the autoevolution.com project.
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