BMW Reveals X1 Li

The stretched China-exclusive model mimics the suffix of the flagship 7-Series' long wheelbase version – ‘Li’ 

BMW has revealed the extended wheelbase version of the second generation X1 at the ongoing 2016 Beijing Motor Show. The China-exclusive model is christened 'X1 Li', and will go on sale in the coming months. The long-wheelbase version of the new BMW X1 is being built at BMW-Brilliance’s Tiexi plant in Shenyang (Brilliance is BMW’s Chinese partner). 

The stretched model is 79 mm longer than the standard X1, which was launched in India at the 2016 Auto Expo. Only the wheelbase has been increased over the regular X1, which has resulted in more legroom at the rear, while the boot space has remained same at 505 litres.  

Mechanically, the X1 Li is only available with a set of petrol engines and the names suggest the drivetrains – sDrive (front-wheel-drive version) and xDrive (all-wheel-drive version). The front-wheel-drive layout comes with two engine options, the first being the X1 sDrive18 Li with a 1.5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder delivering 136 hp; and the second being the X1 sDrive20 Li, a 2.0-litre, turbocharged four-cylinder delivering 192 hp. The all-wheel-drive version – X1 xDrive25 Li – uses the same engine (2.0-litre) but produces 231 hp. 

BMW has revealed that out of the global sales mark of 800,000 units, it has sold over 200,000 units of the first generation X1 in China. This means that a quarter of the X1’s overall sales came from the land of dragons! Now that answers our question as to why the company has rolled out a China-only model. 

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