The countdown to the first standalone M car in nearly 50 years starts now.
As far as 50th-anniversary celebrations go, the BMW XM concept was a pretty horrific one for BMW's hallowed M division. That's the opinion of this writer, who has been fortunate enough to have a go behind the wheel of the only other fully M-developed product before that - the BMW M1. While the XM spits in the face of the M1, it's a great big stinking sign of the times we live in where SUVs print money and performance badges matter more than performance itself.
The XM, sadly, will be entering production. But fortunately - and it's weak consolation, we know - it won't look quite as offensive when it reaches production form. Speaking of the XM in production guise, BMW has posted the first official teaser of the halo SUV, showcasing much smaller kidney grilles than the concept.
Posted to the company's American consumer website, the shadowy teaser reveals smaller grilles that retain an illuminated surround. Flanking these, we see LED daytime running lights. We know from spy photos and leaked design patents that the XM will retain the split headlight design of the concept and the X7/7 Series models - which BMW execs have previously told CarBuzz will be a signature for its top-of-the-range luxury models; basically, the 7 Series/X7 and above.
We can also see that the wing mirrors will be the typical BMW M design items, but other than this, the teaser doesn't give away much. What we can tell you is the marketing tagline of "The Ultimate Driving Machine" is almost guaranteed to be completely out of line. How can you call a massive SUV the ultimate driving machine when the M4 CSL exists?
Curiously, the call-to-action buttons to "Learn More" and "Sign Up" seem inoperable at the moment, suggesting the update on the BMW website is fresh and still has a few bugs. Thus, we don't know when the XM SUV will be revealed. However, it stands to reason that if the teasers have begun, the reveal can't be all that far away.
So, what do we know about the production XM? Well, in addition to the final design being all but completely revealed by design patents, we know a fair bit about what will power the behemoth. While the original concept's 750-horsepower plug-in hybrid powertrain (featuring the brand's 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8) will be entering production for the range-topper, we know that lesser models will also be available.
These are to include a 50e derivative with 490 hp and 516 lb-ft with a plug-in hybrid version of the 3.0-liter inline-six engine. Between this 'base model' and the full-fat version, a 644-hp/650-lb-ft version of the hybrid V8 is also expected.
Instead of basing its model designations on the powertrain, BMW will break tradition here and name the trims like whisky. The least powerful variant is expected to be called the XM 50e, but the base V8 version will be known as the XM Red Label. The full-fat 750-hp variant will be called the XM Black Label.
It's now just a matter of time before all is revealed, and with prototypes shedding camo almost weekly, we expect a debut before the year is out.
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