The next-generation BMW X3 M is coming, and it’s coming with a lot of surprises in tow. One of these surprises comes in the form of a Competition Package for the performance SUV, making the X3 M the first M Division SUV to get the Competition Package treatment. Details are still sketchy on the contents of the package, but according to a report from Motor.es, it will come with more power and sharper handling for the X3 M. That’s not much to go by, sure, but if those two elements are part of the equation, this package immediately becomes something that we can all look forward to.

Ever since BMW unveiled the next-generation X3 SUV last year, there’s been a lot of speculation surrounding what the next-gen X3 M is going to look and feel like. We’ve seen it in public doing test runs. We’ve seen leaks of the SUV’s interior. We’ve even seen it get rendered a number of different ways. Heck, we’ve even seen it playing around the Nurburgring. Needless to say, there’s a lot of buzz surrounding the new X3 M, and the report that it’s getting an M Competition Package is going to get more people excited about what it’s going to be capable of.

At the moment, we’re still short on concrete details. There have been some reports, though, that the SUV will get an all-new 3.0-liter, twin-turbocharged, I6 that’s rumored to make 450 horsepower on its own. Throw the M Competition Package into the equation, and the output reportedly goes up to 475 horsepower, an impressive number for a car like the X3 M, but still on the short side of things when you line it up against the 510-horsepower Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S.

Here’s the thing, though. Even if the new X3 M still can’t rival the output of the GLC 63 S, the gap between the two models is negligible enough to be ignored. It certainly helps that the X3 M is shaping up to be one of the finest handling performance SUVs in the market, at least if the X3 M40i is anything to go by. The M40i is, by all accounts, one of the best SUVs Bimmer has released in recent years. It may not have the cache of a full-blown X3 M, but the positive reception it’s received since launching last year is drawing more people into thinking and believing that the all-new X3 M is going to be a game-changing performance SUV.

That’s high praise for a vehicle that hasn’t launched yet, but don’t expect Bimmer to cave into the weight of expectations surrounding its new SUV. We know what the X3 M is capable of. It’s never been touted for its power as much as it has for its handling. The latter is going to be the X3 M’s trump card, and it certainly helps its case that it’s now getting an M Competition Package that can elevate its appeal to heights it has yet to see.

References

BMW X3

Read our full review on the 2018 BMW X3.

Read our full review on the 2019 BMW X3 M.

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