2012 BMW X3 Details Emerge

MUNICH, Germany — As part of an extended teaser campaign, the first official details have begun to emerge on the redesigned 2012 BMW X3, following a media test-drive of camouflaged preproduction prototypes in Germany. The production version will make its public debut this fall at the 2010 Paris Auto Show.

The second-generation X3, which goes on sale early next year in North America, is larger and roomier than its predecessor. It will be offered in the U.S. initially in two variants, a 268-horsepower X3 xDrive28i and, later in the year, a range-topping X3 xDrive35i powered by a twin-turbocharged 302-hp 3.0-liter inline-6.

The new X3 will feature standard four-wheel drive and both engines will be equipped with the new ZF eight-speed automatic transmission.

Eventually, BMW plans to add diesel and hybrid variants.

Production is shifting from the Magna-Steyr plant in Graz, Austria, to BMW's facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Inside Line says: When dealers finally get a chance to stack the X1, X3 and X5 alongside one another next year, customers will be forgiven if they conjure a new vision of "one sausage, three sizes." — Paul Lienert, Correspondent