BMW X1 SUV to be offered in both RWD and AWD forms

Up until today, BMW had refused to give in to two-wheel-drive variants of its SUV range that comprises the X3, X5 and X6. But that may very well change with the production version of the X1 Concept (see details and pics here) that was unveiled at the Paris motorshow last week. Citing BMW insiders, Brit car magazine Autocar supports that the new X1 will be offered in both four-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive configurations when it goes on sale in late-2009 / early-2010. -Continued

And since we know that you're dying to find out how exactly will BMW name the RWD versions of the X1, the Brits claim that the Bavarian automaker will introduce a new 'sDrive' insignia into their already complicated nomenclature. For example, the X1 with a 2.0-liter twin-turbo diesel engine and RWD would be named X1 sDrive23d while its AWD sibling, X1 xDrive23d. What ever happened to BMW's simple yet nifty alphanumeric nomenclature?

Via: Autocar