BMW has been aggressively expanding its vehicle offerings, and like most other automakers, crossovers make up the majority of additions. Earlier this year, team Bimmer added the X6, and with the X1 concept unveiled in Paris, mild-to-wild CUVs seem to be the focus for the boys in Bavaria. Automotive News is reporting that the SAV love will continue next year when BMW unleashes the X4. Design elements are said to come from the larger X6, which is to say that it'll probably look like a really tall hatchback. The X1 concept and the production X3 are based off of the excellent 3-Series platform, and we're guessing the X4 will also don the sharp-handling underpinnings. If this is what BMW needs to do in order to remain the world's top-selling luxury automaker, we're not so sure it's worth the trouble. The X1 will probably sell relatively well, but it will do so with underwhelming sheet metal. An X4 based off the X6 sounds like an even worse proposition, but then again, we didn't think the X6 was a bright idea either.
Despite earlier assertions to the contrary, all indications are now that BMW is preparing its first batch of M-tuned sport-utilities, including an X5 M and X6 M. Advanced-stage test mules for both have now been spied by a keen photographer right here in the United States, at BMW's Performance Center test track in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The prototype X5 and X6 M have enlarged air intakes with white LED headlamps up front and aerodynamic rear bumpers with quad pipes poking out the back. The trademark M division side gills have been camouflaged, but the exhaust notes are a reported dead giveaway: the X5 M prototype sounding like a twin-turbo V8, while the X6 M sounds more like a V10 or V12. The appearance of the M-tuned crossovers on American soil instead of on the Nurburgring gives us an idea of just who BMW will be targeting with these performance sport-utes. Check out all the spy shots in our gallery below and hit up the source for two spy videos.
The CEO of BMW M GmbH, Ludwig Willisch, spilled his guts to Auto-Motor-und-Sport in a recent interview about the future of BMW's high-performance M division. The news was good, bad, and downright dumbfounding. For the good, Willish mentioned that future M-models will include high-revving turbocharged engines, and offer ceramic brakes. The bad news is that there will be no E91 M3 Touring, E92 M3 CSL, or M1 Concept. Apparently, BMW doesn't feel there is enough of a market to support those vehicles. The perplexing news is that BMW is currently working on M-versions of the X5 and X6 (apparently to answer a question that enthusiasts have yet to ask). While we cannot control the electrochemical signals being sent between neurons within BMW's think tank, we can continue to hope that BMW doesn't dilute the M-brand the way Mercedes-Benz has with AMG.
In case the BMW X6 just doesn't look "the business" enough for your liking, AC Schnitzer has revealed a new aero package for BMW's controversial segment-buster. Hot on the heels of the X6 5.0iS spy shots we brought you today, Schnitzer's package is mostly cosmetic. It consists of a new front bumper with integrated diagonal vents and fog lights, a new rear bumper with diffuser and integrated tailpipe enclosure, and a set of 22" Type VII modular rims. The tuning house is also offering a set of new springs developed on the 'Ring, and a three-spoke steering wheel. The end result, of course, is a matter of taste, but with nothing more than a new engine control unit offered for the diesel models, we wish we had some engine mods to report on.
BMW has its own grammar rules. For instance, M and X cannot appear in the same car name. So while a BMW sport-ute/crossover (or whatever they want to call it) can for all intents and purposes be an M vehicle – that is, top-of-the-line sport model with all the go-fast components and power to spare – it can never wear the vaunted M badge. That is, for the most part, just semantics. BMW's solution for the 'Ring-running versions of its taller vehicles is to slap an S on there instead.
With those rules laid down, we bring you these spy shots of a BMW X6 M 5.0iS. While the name might have you thinking that BMW has shoehorned in the M division's highly praised 5-liter V10 to the X6, sources suggest otherwise: the same twin-turbo version of Munich's 4.4-liter V8 producing in excess of 500 hp is expected to feature in the next M5. Information indicates a release in about a year from now, complete with all the extra dressings you've come to expect from a performance-oriented Bimmer. You didn't think Bavaria would pass up the opportunity to create a high-performance version of the strangest segment-buster yet, did you? Certainly not when the opportunity to further confuse us with its nomenclature is just so tempting.
BMW is marketing the X6 as an entirely new class of vehicle. As such, it's trying to catch people's attention in a revolutionary way. Utilizing hologram technology developed by the Dutch advertising firm, viZoo, a ten-foot long light-controlled area, the system will display a three-dimensional, interactive image of the X6 at four different locations in New York between April 21st and May 16th. The system is manipulated through a touch-screen mounted outside the display and allows participants to view the X6 from a variety of angles, check out the interior and get a run-down on the vehicle's stats. Unfortunately, BMW hasn't released any images or video of the X6 hologram in action, but you can read up on all the details in the press release posted below the fold.
I must be missing the gene that makes high-riding vehicles appealing to so many other people. As a car enthusiast and an engineer, I can certainly appreciate the performance that companies like BMW and Infiniti have managed to wrangle from vehicles like the X6 and the EX35. But there is absolutely nothing in the new 2009 BMW X6 that couldn't be done better in a vehicle with a normal car-like ride height. After all, who is going off-roading in one of these? The best explanation I could get out of BMW officials for the existence of the X6 is that many drivers like that commanding view of their surroundings that the elevated altitude provides.
According to BMW, the X6 is designed to provide stylish coupe looks with the high performance people expect of a BMW and the utility of an SUV. As is so often the case, vehicles that try to fit too many categories at once end up not fitting any of them very well. It's not all bad news for the new X6, though. While it's not my cup of tea, there are undoubtedly some who will love this beast. Read on after the jump to find out if the X6 is something you might want in your garage.
The Internet is everywhere, and later this year BMW is joining other digitally connected automakers with its own mobile web service. We gave you details on the ConnectDrive mobile Internet while we were in Geneva, and BMW TV is following up with video of how the technology works. After the jump is a short promotional video that shows what the BMW interface looks like from the cabin of a new X6. If you've got an iPhone or any other mobile device that uses the EDGE network for access to the web, try not to choke when ConnectDrive Internet boss Daniel Wittwer calls the surfing experience "fast and pleasant." Yeah, right. Regardless of the speed, the technology won't be available in the US any time soon, but it'll be available in Europe later this year.
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This Monday, BMW will announce plans to expand its sole U.S. assembly plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. This is more great news for Spartanburg, as BMW has increased production at the plant three times previously, and the facility is already running over capacity. Its stated capacity is 140,000 vehicles per year, but workers there cranked out 154,999 vehicles in 2007. BMW will reportedly expand its facilities in Spartanburg by 70,000 square feet, at a cost estimated at $27 million. This will bring the German automaker's total investment in Spartanburg to $4.83 billion since it opened in 1994. Clearly BMW has been a significant boost to the regional economy.
The German automaker is currently manufacturing the X5 SAV, Z4 Roadster and M Coupes, and the upcoming X6 SAV at the plant. In 2010, it plans to send the Z4 assembly to Germany, but bring all X3 SAV production to the States (some X3 production is currently done under contract assembly by Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria).
For some, the new BMW X6 sports activity coupe may be the car you've been waiting for. For others, the vehicle is a curiosity for embodying traits of both a crossover and sports sedan. It's got the ride height of a soft roader, but the sleek design and headroom-sacrificing profile of a performance vehicle. If this kind of cognitive dissonance appeals to you, a BMW X6 can be yours starting from $52,500 for the xDrive 35i model powered by the brand's superlative twin-turbo inline six-cylinder. That's not chump change, but is certainly less than the X6 xDrive 50i that starts at $63,000. For the extra ten grand or so, the X6 xDrive 50i is fitted with BMW's brand new twin-turbo 4.4L V8 that produces 400 hp and 450 pound feet of torque. BMW Blog also reveals a ton of optional equipment that's available for the X6, as well. These two MSRPs are just a starting point from which the cost of your X6 could take off like a rocket... that's made of money... and aimed at BMW HQ in Munich. If you require things like a navigation system ($1,900), heads-up display ($1,200) or the Active Ventilated Seat Package ($2,100), bring a lot of rocket fuel to your local BMW dealer.
