The chances of ever seeing a BMW crossover on the track are slim to none, let alone a fully electric model such as the iX1. Nevertheless, the company’s South Korean division decided to have some fun with the high-riding EV by heading to the Driving Center located in Incheon. They’ve developed quite a habit of testing the latest products, and it was the X1’s turn to show what it can do in zero-emission guise.
While the iX1 definitely won’t set your pulse racing, it’s no slouch either. With a pair of electric motors making a combined 308 horsepower and 494 Newton-meters (364 pound-feet) of torque, the compact EV does 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in a respectable 5.6 seconds. However, on a race track, the vehicle’s hefty curb weight of 2,010 kilograms (4,431 pounds) rears its ugly head when tackling the corners.
It completed the course in 1 minute and 35.28 seconds to nearly match the bigger iX3 as well as the previous-generation 7 Series in the 745Le specification. It was only about a second slower than the i4 eDrive40 and roughly two seconds behind the iX xDrive50. Some will be surprised to hear the 420i Convertible was much slower than the iX1 as it finished the time attack in 1 minute and 39.10 seconds.
In case you’re curious about which models tested at the BMW Driving Center in South Korea have been the fastest so far, the M4 is number one with a lap time of 1 minute and 25.06 seconds. The i4 M50 – BMW M’s best-selling product in 2022 and the first half of 2023 – is next with 1 minute and 28.22 seconds. The M240i and i7 xDrive60 share the last place on the podium with an identical time of 1 minute and 31.02 seconds.
It will be interesting to see how much faster the newly launched X1 M35i is going to be compared to the iX1 xDrive30. The first-ever M Performance variant of the baby X model is roughly 345 kilograms (760 pounds) lighter, which should make it considerably more agile during high-speed cornering.
Source: BMW Korea / YouTube
