BMW has given an indication that it has an exciting surprise in store for the Frankfort Motor Show, next month.
The brand’s chairman Harald Krüger – speaking at a conference call about the interim report – announced “a very exciting surprise” will be unveiled at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show. No other details have been given, however there is speculation as to what it might be.
Rumours indicate that BMW will unveil the X7 concept with a fuel cell setup developed in collaboration with Toyota. This makes sense, as the first-ever X7 will be produced in 2019 and this will in all likelihood be previewed by a concept, just like with the BMW X2 where the concept was unveiled in Paris.
There are also rumours that a fully electric 3 Series is on its way to Frankfurt. This is likely to be a concept model that previews the next-generation 3 Series, because the current model is getting a little long in the tooth. The EV could be set to take on the recently launched Tesla Model 3.
plausible scenarios. Firstly, the i8 Roadster has been a long time coming and BMW has already teased the droptop plug-in hybrid sports car. Seeing it at the 2017 IAA in Germany won’t be that much of a surprise though considering it is a known fact the i8 will lose its roof, as hinted by a couple of concepts introduced in recent years.
Harald Krüger was also happy to report people have already lined up to buy the i8 Roadster as the company is taking pre-orders ahead of the model’s 2018 launch. He also spoke briefly about the zero-emission X3 due in 2020, predicting it will turn out to be a “hit with many customers.”
During the same conference call, BMW’s chairman reiterated the plans to launch a three-door electric Mini in 2019. In addition, approximately 40 new and updated models will be introduced between now and the end of 2018. That will include the reborn 8 Series and its M counterpart to make up for lost time as the original model was on the verge of getting an M8 version, but it never did.