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Fresh Spyshots Show the 2018 BMW X5 Testing at the Nurburgring

BMW is developing the fourth generation of the X5, set to launch as a 2018 model. This time, the fully disguised prototype was spotted by our friends at SB-Medien while it was being tested at the Nurburgring.
2018 BMW X5 prototype 14 photos
Photo: Stefan Baldauf/SB-Medien
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If you had any doubt as to this car belonging to BMW, our spy photographers caught it while it was entering the German company’s Nurburgring test facility, a place where engineers can fine-tune prototypes and cars without any prying eyes watching.

Unlike previous footage of this prototype, these are the clearest shots we’ve received so far. We can also notice that the vehicle has been improved since we have last seen it, as you can see from the new front bumper with different air intakes.

The prototype of the 2018 BMW X5 also features a new hood, which closes up to the front grill in a different way when compared to its predecessor.

Judging by the size of the brake discs when compared to the rims, as well as the lack of flared wheel arches, the X5 prototype you can see in this story’s photo gallery is not the M version.

You can move past the fact that it has prominent exhaust tips, as the M version does not follow this design, and the prototype must use those parts for different purposes. When looking at the way the X5 prototype is swaying, it is evident that BMW engineers are pulling all the stops to ensure their next car handles great in the bends.

They are doing this by driving the prototype as hard as they can without crashing it, in order to stress all suspension and chassis components before the elements receive approval for production in their current form.

Naturally, the production model will look a bit different, but we expect the window line, as well as the front bumper design, to remain on the fourth generation X5 in the form you can see in the photos. The last image in the gallery reveals a look from the interior of the prototype. Since this vehicle is used for chassis, powertrain, and suspension tuning, its dash is far from production.

The same thing happens to all prototypes used in the automotive world, and the red stop switches on board highlight this. For those of you who don’t know, the switches cut all electric power in the vehicle, and the engineers only use them in the case of fire, right before getting out with their extinguishers.
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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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