RideLust

Reputed auto news source LeftLaneNews in conjunction with famous shutterbug spy Brenda Priddy managed to catch a few images of a heavily camouflaged BMW X1 taking a joyride ’round the track. Officially unveiled a few weeks ago at the 2008 Paris Auto Show, the 2010 BMW X1 is expected to begin production in 2009 as BMW’s smallest SUV offering. Sharing a platform with the BMW 3-Series, the X1 will be roughly equal in size to the Land Rover LR2, yet significantly lighter and smaller then other similar luxury SUVs like the Acura RDX and BMW’s own X3. Dubbed BMW’s “baby SUV,” the X1 is loosely based in concept off the Toyota RAV4′s compact, fuel-efficient SUV styling. Tentatively planned to come standard with a 6-cylinder engine and BMW’s xDrive/AWD, pricing for the BMW X1 is expected to fall somewhere below the X3′s current $36,000 price tag.

Full spy gallery after the jump