While sports cars are slowly going extinct, SUVs are gradually taking their role as apex predators. The BMW X5 M has always been a catalyst for change, and the latest generation promises to be a beast.
Even the people who generally don't like SUVs have warmed up to the all-new BMW X5. It's not the tech or the luxury, even though there's a lot of both, but the look of the thing. It just seems to work!
A 3-liter turbo engine, be it diesel or gasoline-powered, has everything you need. But people still insist on spending way too much money, so BMW is more than willing to make an M version. One of the most iconic sports trucks of all time will be renewed sometime next year, and in the meantime, engineers are taking advantage of the last days of testing at the Nurburgring.
BMW dropped the ball in the exhaust department but seems to have picked it back up since the M850i. So we're not surprised to hear the 2020 BMW X5 M popping and crackling its quad pipes during testing.
It seems a little gratuitous like it's showing off all the time. But when you spend this kind of money on a BMW with a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8, subtlety is probably not at the top of your priority list. And to that end, the M-specific body kit and accompanying oversized wheels won't go unnoticed. What kind of money? At least $110,000 base on how much the base model has gone up.
It's interesting how BMW and Mercedes have been rivaling each other during testing. The regular X5 and GLE where always sighted within days and this X5 M film is a good match for yesterday's GLE 63. Of course, that's a drag race we can't wait to see. Will it be a repeat of the E63 vs. M5 or are the BMW people going to take this more seriously?
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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