BMW worked day in, day out to get the XM ready to break the record for hybrid production SUVs at Pikes Peak. They knew that a simple mistake could be the end of it, car and driver included. There was no room for errors. And yet one occurred. The BMW Label crossed the finish line on a tow trailer after it crashed into a tree and rolled over.
In a two-part documentary, BMW shows the ups and downs of what was supposed to be a record breaking but ended with a crash. Matt Mullins, Chief Driving Instructor at BMW Performance Driving School, was behind the wheel. He knew this car by heart. The weather conditions were perfect on race day, June 23, before the ultimate challenge, the Race to the Clouds, as they call the International Hill Climb.
The times recorded during quali were way better than those targeted by the BMW team as Mullins chipped seconds away. The target for the quali was of 4 minutes and 31.014 seconds. He did the third run in just 4 minutes and 25.596 seconds. The qualifying time is determined by the quickest run of the lower section. Nothing could go wrong on race day, on the way to the summit, when the target for the entire hill climb was 10 minutes and 49 seconds. All he had to do was drive his usual drive in the BMW XM Label.
His family was there. His wife, his daughter, his son, all came to see him breaking the record in the longest, fastest, and probably most dangerous race in the US. 12.42 miles (19.99 kilometers) of adrenaline. An inch too far to the left or an inch too far to the right may be synonymous with failure.
Car number 738. It was BMW’s most powerful M car. A hybrid system integrated the 4.4-liter twin-turbo engine and an electric motor brings along 738 horsepower (748 PS) and 738 lb-ft (1,000 Nm) of torque, pulling a car that weighs 6,140 pounds (2,785 kilograms).
The BMW XM Label that was to go uphill at Pikes Peak was pretty much stock except for various safety modifications. A roll cage, an onboard fire system, a racing seat and harnesses went in, and all the passenger seats went out.
On race day, the BMW XM Label had a got getaway, eating up the tarmac foot by foot, mile by mile. It was And then, everything went south. Matt Mullins went too wide through a corner and into a tree. The car rolled over.
Emergency services arrived at the scene. The news of a crash along the hill climb arrived at the stands without any information on the car number or the name of the driver. So the team and the family were holding their breath. They had a feeling it was Matt.
The BMW XM went back into the pits on a trailer. The front end was a mess, the windshield was shattered to pieces. But Matt Mullins came walking back from the car that took him from the crash scene to his loved ones and to the BMW team, and everyone cheered. He was unharmed.
It was the first of the two-video series that documents the BMW XM’s crash at Pikes Peak. Number two will drop in ten hours' time.
Right now, the record for a production SUV at Pikes Peak (not hybrid, though) is held by the Lamborghini Urus Performante. The Italian super SUV made it to the summit in 10 minutes and 32.06 seconds.
Google News