BMW’s freshest and most hipsterish SUV to date – the X2 – was unveiled last month and will arrive in 2018 across several global markets. At launch time in March 2018, powering the BMW X2 will be the typical suite of small four-cylinder engines, both petrol and diesel.

So there will be a BMW X2 xDrive18i, xDrive20i, xDrive28i, xDrive20d and xDrive25d. Transmission options will be either a six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. The BMW X2 xDrive28i with 228 horsepower will be available in the US in Spring 2018.

But BMW wants the X2 to be a driver’s car as well so the engineers in Munich are putting the final touches on a high-performance X2 SUV. The M Performance Automobile will be called X2 M35i and will make use of the new iteration of the B48 engine, codename B48A20T1.

This new take on the 2-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine will have 300 HP and will be powering UKL-built models alone. The X2 M35i will only be available wit an automatic transmission and will feature an M Sport Package with exterior and interior M bits.

We expect this high-performance X2 M35i to arrive in the US as well, either in late 2018 or Spring 2019.