BMW has never been a softie when it comes to design. But we have not seen it in a long time, as exuberantly as the designers work behind the drawing board these days. The next wrecking ball that smashes design conventions to the ground is called XM and will make its appearance this year. A look ahead.
Not everyone likes the exuberant grilles that BMW screws on the noses of cars like the new 4-series and the iX, but that is starting to become a cliché. In any case, the management in Munich does not care about the booing. It is certainly not the first time that the brand presents itself in a stubborn way in the field of design. About twenty years ago, under the leadership of design head Chris Bangle, a whole arsenal of BMW models was given an initially controversial jacket. We mention the 7-series (E65) and the then current 6-series (E63 and E64). Now BMW is determined to continue on the design path that it is currently walking and comes with a very fierce colossus, which listens to the name XM.
At the M-top
The XM will not be a buttery comfortable Saloon or Break like the car from which the XM – with the permission of Citroën – has borrowed its name, but the opposite of that. The XM will be a standalone M model. Indeed, a car that comes on the market purely and only as a very hard M version. For its first, fully independent M-model since the M1, BMW chooses a large, high and heavy SUV, which positions the brand a significant step above the X7. Do you want to move forward a bit? If the powertrain that BMW installed in the concept car presented at the end of 2021 is any indication: certainly. The Concept XM contained a mighty V8 that, together with an electric motor, was good for no less than 750 hp and 1,000 Nm. That would mean that the BMW XM will be a plug-in hybrid, just like the M5 of the next generation 5-series. However, the XM takes the title of ‘strongest M model ever’ and with such a designation it can’t help but look intense.
Visual drama
Spectacular appearance, the XM succeeds. The SUV has the appearance of a bully who would have loved to have sent your soul to the afterlife yesterday. It looks like a lot of the Concept XM’s design will survive, so you can count on the visual drama-filled front you see in these computer drawings. It contains not only a gigantic two-piece grille, but also striking lighting. Just like the upcoming facelifted X7, the XM will have lighting divided over two layers. The top viewers, peering viciously into the world, contain the LED daytime running lights, one floor below are the actual headlamps hidden. The sloping roofline ends in a rear with gigantic hips in which the long taillights continue. Other highlights include stacked exhaust tailpipes on either side of the rear bumper and the rear window spills over into the spoiler at the top.
BMW will start production of the XM in Spartanburg this year. A whole series of X models have already seen the light of day in that factory, such as the X7 with which the XM shares its platform. However, the XM is of a completely different order. Within the increasingly exuberant BMW range, it is a visual spectacle; you can speak of a modern form of old-fashioned display of power. Completely over the top and also disgustingly unnecessary, but maybe that’s why secretly so much fun. You also have the Lamborghini Urus, so blame the Germans.
It cannot be ruled out that the XM will eventually have less excessive brothers. After all, there are plenty of candidates for a milder coupé-like derivative of the X7. For the time being, it seems that the XM will be lonely at BMW’s SUV top.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl