The upcoming top model of the X2 family – the BMW X2 M35i – was just spotted at the Nurburgring during some hot laps. In the video below, we see the X2 with a sportier looking front fascia, dual exhausts with bigger pipes and larger wheels, all of which make this X2 seem like an M Performance model. The larger blue brake calipers are also indicative or a sportier model but the fact that the front brakes seem to sport two-piston calipers, it seems to be an actual performance model, rather than just an X2 with an M Sport package.

According to our sources, the X2 M35i will come with a newly tuned version of the brand’s B48 engine, internally dubbed B48A20T1. So it will still be a 2.0 liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine but it’s said to make 300 hp. That engine will still be mated to an eight-speed Aisin transmission and power all four wheels. It should be pretty quick, too, as 300 hp should allow it to get from 0-60 mph in the low five-second range, maybe even quicker.

The X2 is being produced alongside the X1 at BMW’s Regensburg factory in Germany, unlike the first-generation X1, which was built alongside the 1 Series and 3 Series at the company’s Leipzig plant.

Being that we never got the BMW M140i hatchback in America, could this X2 M35i become our first Bavarian hot hatch? It has the power, it’s front-wheel drive-based, it should have the dynamic ability and it looks punchy and sporty